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Thru He War 

(MOUIFIT 



THRU THE WAR 
WITH OUR OUTFIT 



BEING A HISTORICAL NARRATIVE OF THE 
107th AMMUNITION TRAIN 



BY 

JOHN C. ACKER 

Former Sergeant-Ma] or of tLe Motor Battalion 
107ta A.intnunition Xram 




COPYRIGHT 1920 
By the Author 



'251, 
■At 



TO 

"OUR MEN" 

"I used to think that none were better than our 
men. Now I think that none were as good. ' ' — Judge 
James McCuUy, Ashland, Wis., former Lieutenant 
Colonel and Commanding Officer of the 107th Am- 
munition Train. — September 24, 1919. 



APR 15 1920 

©CU566536 
'Wo / 



to 



f 



FOREWORD 



THIS book is of a historical nature, as far as 
names, dates and places are concerned, yet, 
its intent is not that of being authoritatively- 
detailed as to official acts and actions. It is rather a 
series of more or less connected sidelights on an out- 
fit which spent fifteen months in the American Ex- 
peditionary Forces and six months at the Front. 

An ammunition train, such as was organized in 
the late war, was something new in the army. It is 
probably the least known and least accredited of 
any department of the service. Working under con- 
ditions and with equipment that ordinarily would dis- 
courage a regiment of saints the ammunition train 
did its duty. Perched high up on a truck loaded 
with a couple thousand pounds of high explosive ma- 
terial, with enemy shell breaking in such close prox- 
imity that a truck was frequently riddled with 
shrapnel, was but a part of the daily routine of the 
drivers and ammunition handlers of the Train. 

This book is written primarily to those men who 
were members of the 107th Ammunition Train. It 
is hoped it will take them back over the old routes. 



vJj"">C-i^ yQ^ C^<i^cjL^\^ 



Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. 
February 10, 1920. 



CONTENTS 



PART I. 
TRAINING IN TEXAS. 

CHAPTER I. — Page 7 
In Training at Camp MacArtliur, Texas — Rumors of Reorganization of Division 

Buddies Fear Separation — Texas Weatlier — Tiie "Bust Up" Comes. 

CHAPETR II. — Page 10 
lOTth Ammunition Train Formed — Lieutenant Colonel James MeCully in Com- 
mand Major M. D. ImhoflC and Major Anton C. Martin Commaud ISeotion:? — 

Officers and Enlisted Personnel Assigned. 

CHAPTER III. — Page 14 
Truck Companies But No Trucks — Horsed Companies With Horses and More 

Work Intensive Training — Camp MacArthur's Dump Commtsuder — Sand 

Storms and Gumbo — Sanitation — Drill and Details. 
CHAPTER IV. — Page 19 
Civilian Waco — The Cotton Palace — Football — AVaco Goes "Dry" — Bootleggers — 
John Barleycorn Shoots Up the Town — Like Texas Nights In the Movies. 

CHAPTER V Page 23 

More Gumbo and a Dry Spell — Weather Predictions — Thanksgiving — The Artil- 
lery Range — Texas a Big State — Theda Baras — Christmas a Lonesome Day. 
CHAPTER VI. — Page 38 
New Years and Signs of a Move — The Order To Move — Everything Packed — That 
Snow Storm — The Tie-Up — Entraining and Trip to Port of Embarkation — 
Camp Merritt. 

CHAPTER VII Page 32 

The Last Night In the U. S. A. — The Orduna — Halifax, and Nearer Home Than 
When We Left Texas — Scene of the Holocaust — The Convoy — Sea-sick Sol- 
diers — Attitude of the Britishers — In the Danger Zone — Appearance of the 
"Watch Dogs" — In St. George's Channel — Liverpool — Winchester Hill. 

PART II. 
IN THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES. 

CHAPTER I. — Page 41 
At Winnal Down Rest Camp — Tuscania Survivors — Winchester — England and 
Her Food Question — The Pretty Country and Villages — Soldiers' Letters 
and Mail. 

CHAPTER II. — Page 45 
Entraining For Southampton — Crossing the English Channel — Rest Camp No. 3 
Camp Coetquidan a Real Camp — A Regular Home and the First One In a 
Long Time. 

CHAPTER III. — Page 50 
Our Division a Replacement Organization — Fear of Another "Bust Up" — Weather 
in "Sunny' France and Its Scenery — Market Day In Guer — Getting Fed Up — 
Camp Activities. 

CHAPTER IV. — Page .55 

Our Sick Soldiers and Artillery Reach Camo- -Keautifu' Surroundings — Visits 

About Camp^A New Camp Commander — Graduating From the "Militia" — 

Learning How To Walk Post — Arabian Philosophy. 

CHAPTER V. — Page 62 

Changes In Personnel of Officers — Weather Similar To That of Texas — Our Al- 



gerian Allies and Chinese Labor — Destined For Details — "Service of the 
Rear" The Hospital ^Vards — St. Nazaire an<l Rennes — Memorial Day. 

CHAPTER VI. — Page 71 
A Trip Across France — Itinerary — "Many Dust" — Alsace — Billeted in Roppe — 
With the Cows and Pigs and Chickens — Ammunition Hauls — Night Work — 
Anti-Aircraft Bombardments — July 4, 1918 — Baseball — Sunday in Alsace — 
The Flu — No Cooties But Plenty of Fleas. 

CHAPTER VII. — Page 84 

To the Chateau Thierry Sector — On a Real Front and Real Rattles — Wonderful 

Work of Our Division — Burj-ing Details — Hun On the Run — Americans Fight 

Dift'crent — Dangerous Souvenir Hunting — Gossoncourt 'W^oods — Shelled and 

Bombed — Resting On Laurels — Q,uentin Roosevelt's Grave — The Coast Artillery 

CHAPTER VIII. — Page 98 
Victorious Divisions — To Another Front — Town of the Glass House — Pierrefon<l's 
Woods — Juvigny — Wonderful AVork of the Infantry — Boche Planes Get Ob 
servation Balloons — Boche Bombs Come Close — Relieved — In Clviliieation 
Again — Back To Rest — Join-i-ille Area. 

CHAPTER IX. — Page 113 
On the Meuse Argonne Front — Start of tlie Offensive — Companies Working Xight 
and Day — Bois de Brocourt — Rumors of Peace — Germans Evacuating — 
Roads Obliterated But Ammunition Must Go Forward — Verdun — InterH»>l 
"Feuds" — Intellectual Barrages— Scenes Along the Old Hindenberg Line — 
One Night Stands — Shelled and Bombed From Pillar To Post — Epionville — 
Very — Overcoming the Impossible In Ammunition Hauls. 

CHAPTER X. — Page 134 
Those Last Pew Days and Nights in Very — "Finis le Guerre" — Negro Pioneer In 
a Tree — Bois de Placy — AVhen Do We Go Home? — Deloused Again — Metz and 
"Beaucoup" Souvenirs — Forgotten? — Cruel, Cruel War — Russian Poles of 
Bois de Nixeville — Bar le Due Horse Meat — The Move At Last — The Gondre- 
court Area and Still Plenty of Work. 

PART III. 
BEYOND THE RHINE IN GERMANY. 

CHAPTER I. — Page 157 
Additions and Changes In Personnel — The Trip Into Germany — The Beautiful 
Moselle — Heimbach — Surrounded by Comforts — Attitude of Germans — Real 
Service — German Cooking — German Consideration — Embarkation Orders No. 
13 — Going Home? — "Down the Rhine" — Fooled Again — A Trip Up the Rhine 
— The Kaiser's Castle — A Football Game. 

CHAPTER II. — Page 170 
Theatricals and Athletics — Motor Shows — Details To France — More Details — 
Swanson and Remich In A.E.F. Finals — Divisional Review — Co. A Men Decor- 
ated By General Pershing — Trip To Cologne — Fraterniniing AVith the Bloom- 
in' Britishers — Orders For Home Actually Received — Goodbye Deutschland— 
League of Nations Pre<licte€l a Bush League. 

CHAPTER III Page 181 

'Homeward Bound — Sea-Sick Soldiers — A Fourth-Class Battleship — Dizsey Bunks 
— Incident of the Rolling Ship — Navy Sutfers In Comparison With Army — 
Everything Going Out; Nothing Coming In — Details of the Trip Out of Ger- 
many and Life At Brest — The Hurry To Get Home — Over the "Hump" — 
Amusements Aboard Ship — New York Instead of Newport News — End of 
Voyage and Out of the Army. 

Appendix — Page 191. 



PART I. 
TRAINING IN TEXAS. 




CHAPTER I. 

In Training at Camp MacArthur, Texas — Rumors 
of Reorganization of Division — Buddies Fear 
Separation — Texas Weather — ^The "Bust Up*' 
Comes. 

THOSE few weeks in the autumn of 1917 at Camp MacArthur, 
previous to the actual reorganization of the Thirty-Second 
Division were trying times for the men who had come down 
from the North — from Wisconsin and Michigan — to be made into 
soldiers under plans then recognized as most approved and modern. 
Speculation was rife; everybody was down in the mouth; no on€ 
knew where he was at when the first rumors of the reorganization 
started circulating. The home town companies, until then, were quite 
w€ll satisfied with conditions as they were. Then came that fear of 
the companies being broken up and their members scattered to the 
four corners of the camp into every branch of the service from avia- 
tion to mule drivers 

At the same tim€ the daily schedule was such that there was not 
a great deal of time in which to worry. The daily workout was a 
"pippin." Scarcely a fleeting moment got away. There was not a 
minute from Earliest morning until late at night which was not being 
used to make regular soldiers of us. What previously required a 
couple of years to perfect was to be condensed into a sixteen weeks' 
training period. First call for reveille was at 5 :30 A.M. with 15 min- 
utes setting up exercises immediately following. A little double- 
timing-it was usually included. There was an entire five minutes in 
which to make up cots, wash and clean up and fall in for mess at 6 
o'clock. Aft€r washing mess kits there was police and sick call and 
at 6 :45 it was fall in for drill, which continued until 11 :45. After- 
noon drill call came at 12 :55, with recall at 4 o'clock. From then un- 
til 5 'clock was non-com school, with mess at 5 and retreat at 5 :35. 
A fairly busy day. Nights were for study, French lessons and sleep 
with nothing to do until tomorrow. To the embryo soldiers it was a 



8 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

case of cheer-up-the-worst-is-y€t-to-come, with that dread of being 
separated at any time from the old home town bunch. 

Between the drill schedule and the gumbo it was not exactly an 
ideal life. Besides th€ old squads-east and squads-west, in which the 
men were becoming so proficient that they could execute the com- 
mands with their eyes closed and one hand tied behind th€ back, 
there were rudimentary instructions in gas warfare, grenade and 
bomb throwing, trench digging, target practice, bayonet drill and 
various other new stuff of which th€ officers were as destitute of 
knowledge as were the men. 

But the climate of Texas was something about which to wonder 
and marvel. How Texas endured thru the ages was a question which 
no one could answ€r. It was difficult to conceive how there could 
possibly be anything left of Texas. Either the wind was blowing or 
else it rained in Texas. If one could choose one of the two — rain or 
wind — he would be up against it for a decision. It would simply be 
a choice between gumbo, which is a subject in itself, and dust, which 
is another subject. 

Why Texas wasn 't blown off the map was a mystery. Where the 
continual clouds of dust, sand and dirt came from was really mystify- 
ing, and it would seem that what was left of Texas after a wind 
storm would be lugged away on the feet after a rain storm. 

Gumbo, to do it justice, is beyond description. It is native to 
the soil of Texas and resembles nothing so much as a great sea of the 
stuff that makes Tanglefoot hard on flies. It is strong as well as 
sticky and does not stretch. A person's hobnailed No. 10 's became 
the size of a ham after the first two or three steps and to travers6 
the width of the company strSet was hard work even for men whom 
four months of hard training had mad^ fit. With each step 
forward it was necessary to t€ar from the dry earth six inches below 
the surface a chunk of gumbo a foot in diameter. 

Following the wet spell would come dry weather and dust and 
sand. Some weeks the wind would blow from ev€ry point of the 
compass, bringing temperatures ranging from 31 degrees above zero 
to 80 degrees in the shade, and there was no shade, but no matter 
what the temperature or the direction of the wind the atmosphere was 
filled with sand. Eyes, ears, nose, mouth and hair all continually 
filled with dirt; sand even penetrated the clothing and it was one 
continual disagreeableness. Frequently drill was suspended due to 
sand storms which at times bl€w down tents. With some storms came 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 9 

nearly-freezing temperatures ; with others came the breath of the 
tropics. Variety in direction of wind was the spice of life in Texas. 
And with all the unpleasantness, underlying it all in the hearts of 
the men, was that dreadful feeling of impending fate — of being as- 
signed to some outfit where you wouldn't know a soul and where you 
were positive you wouldn't like your officers. 

Then the "break" came. October 15, 1917, the reorganization of 
the Thirty-Second Division took place and the 107th Ammunition 
Train was formed with Headquarters, a Motor Section and a Horsed 
Section. There were certain outfits in the old Second Brigade of the 
Wisconsin National Guard that were assigned to the new organiza- 
tion almost in their entirety. 

After all those \^"€eks of worry and fretting over a possible dis- 
ruption that would rend the souls of pals, and separate brothers, 
after thoughts as sorrowful as the parting of Uncle Tom and Little 
Eva, these certain outfits simply moved from Section F of the camp 
to Section E. There was nothing to it. Why, it was absolutely pain- 
less. In fact, it was a move for the better. It was to be simply fine 
in the new outfit. 

Instead of that everlasting "Squads Right" and "Squads Left" 
it was to be "Quads Right and "Quads Left," and there would be a 
nice new line of work for Caisson companies and the Wagon com- 
pany. Everybody loves an automobile or a motor truck, especially 
aft^r he has been in the army awhile, and everybody enjoys tinkering 
around a motor and talking about one. And who doesn't love horses? 
What is more romantic than an outfit of horses? Can yoxi imagine a 
picture of the Civil War, for instance, without horses in the picture? 

Anyway, it was to a whole lot better than going thru that never- 
ending "Right by Squads" — "Squads Right" — "Comp'nee-€-e, 
Halt," forever and ever, day in and day out. Why, it Avas even 
rumored there would not be any guard ! 



CHAPTER II. 

1 07th Ammunition Train Formed — Lieutenant 
Colonel James McCully in Command — Major 
M. D. ImhofF and Major Anton C. Martin Com- 
mand Sections — Officers and Enlisted Person- 
nel Assigned. 

IN THE organization of the 107th Ammunition Train the personnel 
was chosen with a view of obtaining the services of men who were 
experienced in the crafts necessary to a successful conduct of a 
branch of the service which had as its duties the transportation of 
ammunition from the railheads, or dumps, to the front — to battery 
positions and to th€ infantry — by motor trucks and by horse-drawn 
vehicles. Trucks drivers, motor mechanics, machinists, wagoners, 
saddlers, blacksmiths and many other specialists were required. 
The entire organization was selected from Wisconsin regiments— 
from the 4th, 5th and 6th Infantry, 

PERSONNEL 

Th€ personnel of the various companies and detachments in the 
train, and the former organization, follows. 

TRAIN HEADQUARTERS 

Lieutenant Colonel James McCully, Ashland, 5th Wis. Inf., com- 
manding. 

Captain Fred E. Theilacker, Milwaukee, Co. K, 5th Wis, Inf., 
Train Adjutant. 

Enlisted personnel of 9 men*, 5th Wis, Inf,, 6 from Co, L, Wau- 
toma; 2 from Supply Co., Port Washington; 1 from Hq. Co,, Madi- 
son, 

MOTOR SECTION HEADQUARTERS 

Major Martin D. Imhoff, Milwaukee, 2nd Battalion, 5th Wis. Inf., 
commanding. 
(*) See appendix. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 11 

1st Lieutenant Jeroni€ H. Coe, New Richmond, Adjutant 2nd 
Battalion 5th Wis. Inf., Adjutant. 

Enlisted personnel of 10 men*, 5th Wis. Inf. — 5 from Co. L, Wau- 
toma ; 2 from Co. D, Hartford ; 1 from Co. H, Chilton ; 1 from Co. G, 
Berlin ; 1 from Co. F, Sturgeon Bay. 

COMPANY A 

Captain Richard T. Hill, 1st Lieutenant Wilbur R. Winch, 2nd 
Lieutanant James P. Christofferson, all of Menasha and from Co. E, 
4th Wis. Inf. 

Enlisted personnel of 92 men*, 4th Wis. Inf. — 86 from Co. E, 
Menasha ; 6 from Co. F, Shawano. 

COMPANY B 

Captain Harold G. Rogers, 1st Lieutenant William J. Veling, 2nd 
Lieutenant Nicholas M. Schantz, all of Hartford and from Co. D, 5th 
Wis. Inf. 

Enlisted personnel of 92 men*, 5th Wis. Inf., all from Co. D, 
Hartford. 

COMPANY C 

Captain George B. Jensen, 2nd Lieutenant George D. Nelson, 
both of Black River Falls and from Co. D, 4th Wis. A first lieuten- 
ant was not assigned to the company. 

Enlisted personnel of 92 men*, 4th Wis. Inf. — 85 from Co. D, 
Black River Falls ; 1 from Co. A, Chippewa Falls ; 3 from Co. C, Wau- 
paca ; 2 from Co. L, Waukesha ; 1 from Supply Co. 

COMPANY D 

Captain William W. Wismer, 1st Lieutenant Robert W. Har- 
ness, both of Hay ward and from Co. H, 6th Inf. No Second lieutenant 
was assigned to the company. 

Enlisted personnel of 92 men*, 6th Wis. Inf — 90 from Co. H, 
Hayward ; 1 from Co. E, Spooner ; 1 from Hq. Co. 

HORSED SECTION HEADQUARTERS 

Major Anton C. Martin, Neilsville, 2nd Battalion, 4th Wis. Inf., 
commanding. 

1st Lieutenant Robert L. Wiley, Chippewa Falls, Battalion Adju- 
tant, 4th Wis. Inf., Adjutant. 

Enlisted personnel of 19 men*, 4th Wis. Inf. — 10 from Co. B, 
Stanley ; 5 from Hq. Co., Chippewa Falls ; 3 from Co. H, Crandon ; 1 
from Co. E, Menasha. 
-(*) See appendix. 



12 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

COMPANY E 

Captain Harvey D. Weidman, 1st Lieutenant Scott A. Cairy, 2nd 
Lieutenant Earl Y. Sangster, all of Platteville and from Co. I, 4th 
Wis. Inf. 

Enlisted personnel of 189 men*, 4th Wis. Inf. — 135 from Co. I, 
PlattevilM; 33 from Co. L, Waukesha; 10 from Supply Co., Water 
loo ; 1 from Hq. Co., Chippewa Falls ; 1 from Co. A, Chippewa Falls ; 
1 from Co. C, Waupaca ; 1 from Co. E, Menasha ; 2 from Co. F, Shaw- 
ano ; 1 from Co. M, Kenosha ; 4 from Co. I, 6th Wis. Inf., Baraboo. 

COMPANY F 

Captain Joseph B. Zawodny, 1st Lieutenant Arthur D. Weiher, 
2nd Lieutenant John W. Blechacz, all of Milwaukee, and from Co. C, 
5th Wis. Inf. 

Enlisted personnel of 189 men*, 5th Wis. Inf. — 148 from Co C, 
Milwaukee ; 41 from Co. I, Milwaukee. 

COMPANY G 

Captain John A. Bonin, 2nd Lieutenant Martin F. Blenski. of 
Milwaukee, the former from Co. C and the latter from Co. A, 5tL 
Wis. Inf. 

Enlisted personnel of 150 men*, 5th Wis. Inf. — 95 from Co. B, 
Milwaukee ; 55 from Co. A, Milwaukee. 

Within a few we€ks after the organization of the Ammunition 
Train there were several changes in the personnel of the officers. 

2nd Lieut. N. M. Schantz was appointed Motor Section supply of 
ficer and transferred from Co. B to Hq. Motor Section. 

S€rgt. George Russell Co. C, was commissioned a second lieuten- 
ant and assigned to Co. C, 2nd Lieut. George Nelson having been pro- 
moted to first lieutenant. 

Sergt. Earl W. Foizie, Co. D, was also commissioned a second 
lieutenant. He was assigned to Co. D to fill the vacancy. 1st Lieut. 
Robert Harness, Co. D, was on special duty at the Divisional Gas 
School. 

1st Lieut. Clarence J. Wessely, formerly of Co. L (Rhinelander), 
2nd Wis. Inf., was attached to the train as motor instructor. 

Captain Edward Dayton, formerly of Co. M (Kenosha), 4th Wis. 
Inf., was attached to the Train as bayonet instructor and for a time 
was also supply officer. 

Captain J. C. Hanley (Stanley), formerly of Co. B, 4th Wis. Inf., 

( * ) See appendix. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 13 

was assigned as Adjutant of the HorsM Section. 1st Lieutenant F. C. 
Fitzwater was assigned to Horsed headquarters as veterinarian. 

2nd Lieutenant S. H. Matuszewski, of Milwaukee, was assigned 
to the Wagon Co. 

The only other change in the officers was in November when Major 
Imhoff was s6nt on detached service to Kenosha, Wis., to the Nash 
Quad plant for instructions in the mechanism, and operation of motor 
trucks. During his absence, which was about five weeks, the Motor 
Battalion was commanded by Major Robert Connor, Marshfield, for- 
merly of the 3rd Battalion of the 4th Wis. Inf. 

There was also organized a detachment of Enlisted Ordnance 
Personnel* which remained with the Motor Battalion thruout the 
war. Men were selected from the companies of the Train and others 
were transferred in to this detachment from regiments of the div- 
ision. The duties of the organization w€re the care and repair of 
ordnance, motor equipment, caissons and the like. No officers were 
assigned to the detachment, which was put in charge of Supply Of- 
ficer Lt. Schantz. 

The Medical Detachment* was in charg€ of Major Robert H. 
Gray, of La Crosse, who had been in the 6th Wis. Inf. 1st Lieuten- 
ant Thomas E. Mackedon, Cedarburg, of the 5th Wis. Inf., and 1st 
Lieutenant Fredrick Vater, Milwaukee, of the Dental Corps, w^re 
also assigned to the detachment. Lieut. Mackedon was transferred 
out of the Train before it left the United States, and 1st Lieutenant 
Carter was assigned in his place. 



■(*) See appendix. 



CHAPTER III. 

Truck Companies But No Trucks — Horsed Com- 
panies With Horses and More Work — Intens- 
ive Training — Camp MacArthur's Dump Com- 
mander — Sand Storms and Gumbo — Sanita- 
tion — Drill and Details. 

IN the organization of the Train the companies of the Motor Section 
wer€ called "First," "Second," "Third" and "Fourth" truck 
companies; the Horsed Section companies Avere "First Caisson," 
"Second Caisson" and "Wagon" companies. A short time later an 
order was issued by Division Headquarters changing the designations 
from numbers to letters and the "First Truck Company" became 
"Company A," with the other companies in their order changed to 
lettered designations alphabetically. 

There was much speculation as to why the names of the com- 
panies were changed and the more pessimistic prospective chauffeurs 
claimed it was because "there ain't never going to be no trucks in 
the outfit." 

There is no doubt but that at the time the "truck" part of the 
designation was a misnomer, like a certain railroad down South, as 
one of our replacements from Alabama later explained. This rail- 
road, the Mobile, Jackson and Kansas City, operates from Mobile, 
Ala., to Jackson, Tenn., but is a long, long way from Kansas City. 
Our friend from Alabama said that the only reason the "and K. C." 
M^as tacked on the "M. J." w^as because the road was headed in the 
general direction of Kansas City. In reality the Motor Section had 
to travel a much longer distance than from Jackson to Kansas City 
to realize the "Truck" part of the name it bore for a short time. 

While the men of the Motor Section complained because they did 
not have their motor equipment, the men of the Horsed Section com- 
plained because th€y did have their 's. Taking care of all those horses 
and harness caissons and wagons was far from being an easy life. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 10 

and just because the Horsed Section had its equipment the fact did not 
let up on the drill to any noticeable extent. Wh€n the outfit was not 
drilling it was caring for the equipment. 

No sooner had the men of the Motor Section became settled 
down in their new quarters in Section E than they began looking 
around for the trucks on which they would thereafter ride, while the 
poor old infantry outfits, from which we supposedly had gi-aduated, 
tramped half over McLennan county each day. 

The trucks did not materialize and \M same old Squads East, 
Squads West continued without interruption and without variation or 
any let up. The only sign of motor equipment in the Motor Section 
was an automobile which Major Imhoff and Captain Coe acquired, a 
motorcycle which had been assigned for the use of headquarters, and 
a poor old dilapitated truck which Lieut. Wessely had somehow man- 
aged to pick up somewhere about the camp — maybe down at the 
dump — and which was loaned to the companies for driving practice 
a few hours each day. 

Mention of "the dump" recalls the guardian of Camp Mac 
Arthur's dump, whom some of you may have encountered while search- 
ing for "lost" property which you might have surveyed and requis- 
ition n€w property in its place. This particular encounter took place 
while a search was being made for an old piece of junk which at one 
time had been an incinerator pan but having been burned out was 
thrown away when it should have been preserved and surveyed ac- 
cording to army regulations before being completely destroyed or 
consigned to the dump. 

An old Civil War veteran presided ov6r the dump. He was 
quaint and ragged and his shoes and leggins looked as tho he had 
been working around the stables. He wore an old broad-brimmed 
Texas Stetson, a G. A. R. coat with brass buttons, frayed sleeve' cuffs 
and elbows sticking out, a pair of khaki breeches and an old pair of 
army shoes and leggins. He was 78 years old, his face hadn't seen 
a razor for half that number of years and he "chawed" tobacco as 
tho h€ loved it and didn't care who kncAV it, judging from the way he 
displayed the "juice" stains on his whiskers. 

He simply oozed sour philosophy and opinions. He called the 
airplanes we were w^atching "casus belli," and he had to explain 
what that was before it was understood. He said he had helped fast- 
en the anchor rope of Zeppelin's observation balloon in the Civil War 
and until Zeppelin's death the Kaiser had depended on the big dirg 



16 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

ibl€s to win the war. He said it was air machines that caused th^ 
war and they would end it, explaining that the Kaiser's confidence 
in the beginning was the result of his faith in Zeppelin. Oh, the old 
man knew it all. He said the trouble with this world was that it 
was being killed by improvements, like the Irishman 's wife, and that 
every invention instead of being turned to help mankind was first 
adapted to killing men and its efficiency judged by its deadliness. 

Gee! but the old man was sour. He sputtered away for an hour 
and come to find out the cause of his whole grouch was Waco. He 
didn't like Waco and he wouldn't move away, preferring to nurse 
his animosity where he could continually feed it and ke^p it alive 
He liked to sit around and talk to strangers, especially Northeners. 
and cuss things in general and Waco in particular. He was "run 
ragged" out of Waco forty years ago and he had been getting eveti 
ever since, mostly by cussing. 

He was born in Waco and will die there, and with his boots on, 
he said. He was working on a Mississippi river boat that ran as far 
north as Dubuque when the Civil War broke out and he enlistM in 
the Northern army, happening to be on the northern end of one of 
the trips when Sumpter was fired on. Had the old packet been run- 
ning on schedule time it would have be€n in Memphis that day and 
the presiding official of Camp Mac Arthur's dump would have 
fought in General Robert E. Lee's armies. When he joined the army 
he enlisted to fight, and he didn't care who, not being troubled with 
any slaves or slavery problems except his own daily grind which he 
classed as nigger work and the opportunity to fight was an excuse to 
"git shut of it." 

After the war he served four "hitches" in the regular army and 
then in his brass buttons and blue army uniform he very foolishly 
thought the South had forgotten the war and he came marching back 
home to Waco. His reception was such that he hadn 't forgotten it or 
forgiven it. He didn't mind the abuse or the fact that he was "run 
ragged out of town," or any of the names he was called, except "a 
damned Yank," and that is what he had been mad about all those 
forty years. 

Intermittently dust and sand storms and gumbo were still with 
us. There would be an occasional reminder of winter and everybody 
was getting set. There were frequent rumors of a move to a port of 
embarkation but it was no longer believed that we would spend 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 17 

"Christmas in France," the slogan which followed us from Camp 
Douglas. 

Pyramidal tents had wooden floors and wooden sides and more 
than likely wooden doors nicely fitted in. There were electric lights, 
baths and conical shaped stoves which threw out a lot of heat. When 
it was not for fear that the tent would blow down sleeping was very 
comfortable. The winter issue included plenty of clothes and there 
were many sweaters, wristlets and woolen helmets knitted by the 
folks at home. Every indication was that preparation was being 
made for a period of training to be uninterrupted by cold weather. 

Camp sanitation was strict and the health of the outfit very good. 
Comparatively there was but little illness. There were numerous 
eases in the hospital but measles was the principal trouble and con- 
sidered more of an excuse for not drillng than anything else. The S. 
C. D. board was working and there were quite a few cases under ob- 
servation for heart and lung trouble. Th6 absence of throat disease 
was remarkable. 

Six or seven soldiers were in the regimental infirmary one morn- 
ing at sick call, all feverish and with flushed faces. 

"Ah ha!" says 'Doc,' "been sleeping with your tent flaps up in 
all the cold air, I suppose." 

"No sir, Lieutenant, we close up our tent tight every night," 
came back the protest to such an unfair accusation. 

An order was issued that very day to the effect that tt^nt flaps 
must be raised every night and there was an inspection after taps to 
see that the order was obeyed. 

All the talk about the war being over ' ' pretty soon ' ' and that we 
would "never see France" was not believed for a minute by anyone 
in the outfit. Aside from the army of 25,000 men drilling on the par- 
ade grounds daily, there was another army of approximately 4,000 
men engaged in construction work, building a cantonment at which 
to train others after our division was gone. All that labor, and drill, 
and expense had not been ordered by the War Department with the 
expectation that the war would ' ' soon be over. ' ' 

Our ammunition train was a popular branch of the service. Ev- 
ery man in the division who ever ran a flivver wanted a job driving a 
truck, or a car, and every man who was ever around horses wanted a 
transfer. The impression seemed to be abroad that it was "pretty 
soft" in the ammunition train, but anyone that found a soft berth in 



18 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

the outfit could write his own pay check, because there was no such 
thing. 

It was drill, drill, drill and then occasionally there wer^ details 
more tiresome than drill. Of all the disagreeable details the one that 
hurt the most was when 200 men from the Train were sent over to old 
Section F for three days to prepare the camp for a big bunch of 
drafted men who were expected from Camp Custer. Not only did .11 
th€ detail have to put up tents, build floors and walls, put in tables 'Ij 
and benches for the expected ' ' tourists, ' ' but they were compelled to 
put up cots and fill straw ticks. It was the unkindest cut of all. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Civilian Waco — The Cotton Palace — Football — 
Waco Goes "Dry* — Bootleggers — John Barley- 
corn Shoots Up the Town — Like Texas Nights 
In the Movies. 

WACO had already started flirting with National Army men. 
We made her what she was and she was showing h€r fickle- 
ness even before we were gone. National Army successors 
to the 32nd Division were expected 34,000 strong and in addition to 
them 16,000 soldiers from the Signal Corps and Aviation were expect- 
ed, making Waco 's army camp twice the siz€, and in anticipation of all 
that Waco was planning on being a city of 100,000 inhabitants. 

That Texas town was slated for a growth more phenominal than 
in the boom days of its pioneer period. It was planning on extend- 
ing its street car system, enlarging its telephone plant and oth^r mu- 
nicipal utilities, and was taking its war prosperity with the philoso- 
phical assurance that "civilian Waco is working for the govern- 
ment of the United States" — but not at $30 a month. 

Taps were at 11 o'clock those days and ther€ were frequent op- 
portunities to visit Waco, which was about four miles from Section 
E. Service automobiles charged 25 cents one way and there were 
hundreds of cars getting the two-bit pieces. Street cars were al- 
ways jammed. 

Waco is a nice clean town and is pretty with its wide streets and 
many shade trees, a great contrast to the army camp which was as 
barren of foliage as Lake Michigan and as devoid of scen€ry as the 
Sahara desert. Citizens of the city tried to be pleasant and often 
spoke a few kind words while making the change, which was a very 
simple operation because the soldier usually didn't get anything 
back. The congestion was too great for pleasantries, even for service. 

Oftentimes a soldier would not wait for the evening mess at 
camp but would hustle down town with visions of a nice big steak 
s€rved with regular silverware and table linen, and with a great ap- 



20 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

petite and all the pleasures of anticipation. For two solid hours he 
would probably roam the streets fighting his way from one eating 
house to another trying to find a waiter that would take his order, 
and would finally land at some lunch stand where, instead of a steak, 
he' would get a thin ham sandAvieh and a bottle of near-beer. 

But, the ordinary crowd of soldiers about the town was not a 
circumstance to the time of the Cotton Palace when in two weeks 
more than 500,000 people visited the affair. The Cotton Palace opened 
November 3. In the Southwest the Waco Cotton Palace is the event 
of the year and is almost as celebrated as the New Orleans Mardi 
Gras. It is very similar to a state fair in the north. 

Citizens of Waco are even more proud of their Cotton Palace 
than of the Amicable Building, th€ir skyscraper, which is 22 stories 
high and heralded as the tallest building in the Southwest. It stands 
like a huge monument over the town, making playhouses of the stores 
and hotels in the business district, but as a monument the comparison 
was th€n no longer apt. The soldiers resurrected Waco. 

Soldiers made the 1917 Cotton Palace the greatest in its history, 
being the added attraction. They staged the big event of the pro- 
gram and were right in the calcum all the time. The big Texan show 
was opened by General Haan following a parade of 10,000 soldiers, 
and soldiers "went over the top,' built bridges in less than no time, 
went thru drills and exhibitions and because they didn't have to pay 
to get in the grounds worked harder than kids carrying water to the 
circus elephants. 

The Cotton Palace was a big county fair featured with cotton 
bales but the usual pumpkins and squashes were in evidence wearing 
the usual red, white and blue ribbons. They offered a prize to the 
farmer who brought the largest load of cotton the longest distaoce. 

Th€re was every conceivable way to get the dime. There wa? 
Bosco, who eats 'em alive, and his fair sparring partner, ex-queen of 
an island somewhere in the Pacific, who charms 'em and wraps 'em 
around her neck. There was the living skeleton ; the fat girl, 14 years 
old weighing several hundred pounds and corn fed in Texas; the 
human dope fiend ; the man with the loose skin, who pulls his chin 
up over his head like a gas mask ; the fire-eater, who inhales gasoline 
fumes; the human pin-cushion, whom the medics out at camp would 
have hated because the needle would never bother him in typhoid 
shots; the baby lions and other animal shows and all the other 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 21 

''specialists" who were on the Midway at the old Chicago World's 
fair. 

Instead of the "Midway," or "Pike," it was the "War Path" at 
llie Cotton Palace, and crowding thru the thousands and thousands of 
visitors to see th€ Diving Girls, the Panama Canal, the racing hippro- 
(iome motorcyclists, the Honolulu Sextette, or the Hawiian Octette; 
or to ride on the Ferris Wheel, the Figure Eight, or Loop-the-Loop, 
it was simple to understand why it had be€n named the War Path. 

The grand finale of the Cotton Palace consisted of music by a 
l)and of 500 pieces, a combination of all the military bands at Camp 
MacArthur, and while it would not be exactly correct to say that the 
music was beautiful, there certainly was a lot of it. Then, too, as an 
aftermath, the greatest football game was played. The stars of Wis- 
consin and Michigan played the Second Texas, who the previous year 
lield the championship of the South. They hailed from Camp Bowie, 
Forth Worth. Camp MacArthur shut out the native Texans, 21 to 0, 
in a most spectacular game in which the rivalry was at fever heat, 
and thereby gained the championship of the South. The game cer- 
tainly was a hot one. It was a regular North and South affair, and 
how the North and South do fight when they mix, as will be re- 
membered by some of the older inhabitants. It was almost with pity 
that the Kaiser was recalled and that there really was a war on over 
in Europe ; a sort of shame to take the money feeling when picturing 
the North and South on the same side fighting a common €nemy. 

Waco was voted "dry" that fall at a special election. "Boot- 
legging" to the soldiers was one of the reasons for the victory of the 
dry forces. "For ways that are dark" the soldier has the China- 
man b€at a mile when it comes to circumventing the law, but some- 
times he got caught. Moreoften, however, it was the bootlegger and 
Waco's hurryup wagons used up a lot of tires that fall. The town 
went dry December 1 and the night of November 31 was a large tim^. 
Old John Barleycorn shot up the town before leaving, and left a trail 
of blood. While he was not entirely responsible for everything that 
happened he got credit for it, anyway, 

W. D. Thayer Avas fatally shot while in Death Alley; an un- 
identified white man was found dead back of a hotel ; Alfred Rollins, 
a n^gro, was shot thru the right shoulder; a soldier was badly hurt 
in a motorcycle collision ; man named Bates was cut up with a knife ; 
two motorcycle cops were in a collision and both injured severely, 
much to the joy of service car drivers ; five bootleggers were arrested 



22 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

with whiskey in their possession; twenty drunks were on the police 
blotter the next morning and there were numerous cases of fighting 
and disturbing the peace. It certainly Avas a great night — just like a 
Texas night in the movies. 

While the occasion was exceptional, the average casualty list 
there from shooting scraps was pr€tty high. Every day or two there 
was a "stick "or so in the morning paper relating the sad demise of 
some worthy Texan, white or colored. To get shot and get a real 
mention in the local press one must first be a prominent citizen. They 
gave Mrs. DeSullers, of Mineola, N.Y., a lot of front page for the 
murder of a mere divorced husband, and carried it day after day dur- 
ing the trial, but when a Waco business man shot and killed his wife 
and then put a bullet into his own body, the best he got was a couple 
of "sticks" on page three and for one issue only. 



CHAPTER V. 

More Gumbo and a Dry Spell — Weather Predic- 
tions — Thanksgiving — The Artillery Range — 
Texas a Big State — Theda Baras — Christmas a 
Lonesome Day. 

GRADUALLY the crowds that filled Waco's streets became 
thinned. Amusement places in the city became more numer- 
ous and new restaurants and theaters were being opened up, 
and conditions were becoming adjusted by more amusement places 
and by fewer soldiers going to town nights. Th€ drill schedule M^as 
becoming even more stiff. Both the days and nights were occupied. 
There was practice at the rifle range and to 90 percent of the men 
this was Entirely new stuff as at least that percentage had never fired 
a service rifle before. At that the results were surprising. The num- 
ber of hits and high scores proved the efficiency of the aimin<r and 
sighting drills in which the men were practiced for weeks before 
ever firing a shot. 

Following a long period of gumbo there was a continued dry 
spell. Texas weather continued to be a source of much speculation. 
There was no way of determining what was coming next and nobody 
ever attempted to predict Texas weather. Signs in the sky do not 
mean a thing there. A sailor in Texas would be in a duece of a fix. 
A ring around the moon or sun-dogs might mean "fair and warm- 
er" and a rainbow might be "probable showers." It was a comm.on 
remark that anyone who attempted to predict Texas weather was 
either a darned fool or a newcomer, and we had been there too long 
to be termed newcomers. 

There was one sign, tho, that ought to work any place and it 
pointed to a long, cold winter. Co. D had a black bear for a mascot 
and he started digging himself in. He kept digging and digging, 
deeper and deeper. His continual digging might not have meant 
anything, because he didn't have anything else to do but dig, but the 
men in Co. D claimed the bear knew his business. 



24 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

Some days about every article of clothing issued us was ou our 
backs and the next day we were longing for B.V.D 's. For a surpris- 
ingly lengthy period there was not any rain and the drill grounds 
were in perfect shape — smooth, with a hard crust. But while the 
soldiers were very well satisfied with the condition of the soil the 
Texas farmers were not. In Texas the principal crops are cotton, 
corn, wheat and oats, and at that season of the year the degree of 
moisture in the soil does not affect to any great extent the cotton or 
corn crop because those grains are not planted until February or 
March, and are th€ principal crops of the state, but the cattle man 
was not so fortunate. He is located principally in western Texas and 
depends on fall planted oats and grass seeds for his grazing ground. 
His fall planting should be finished in November but that year he had 
not y€t started. Conditions for wheat were the same. There was no 
chance to do any plowing as the soil was as hard as rock. The cattle 
man, it was claimed, was facing a crisis and thousands of Texas steers 
were in a worse fix. 

Then Thanksgiving day came around. "A soldier in every home 
for Thanksgiving" was the Waco idea, but Waco was not large 
enough to take care of the entire Camp MacArthur crowd. The men 
who were not so fortunate as to get an invitation to dinner in the city 
nevertheless had turkey on Turkey Day. The Quartermaster was 
really liberal and besides nearly everybody got a package from home. 
Thanksgiving was certainly observed with respect and ceremony, 
especially during the noon hour. There were plenty of turkeys and 
the fixin's were just like at home. Mess funds got an awful wallop 
that day. Tables were covered with everything that the Waco mark- 
et could produce and all served to music, the band playing during 
the noon hour. 

Not a soldier was sick as a result of that feed and the camp 
commander attributed that fact to the army physical training sys- 
tem. It was Evidently a test to find out just how much the soldier 
could stand. Just to prove how well the men came thru the ordeal a 
two-hour hike was ordered the next morning and in the afternoon 
the entire division passed in review before its commanding general, 
heads erect, shoulders squared, eyes to the front, stomachs distended. 

With Thanksgiving came rain, giving the Texas cattle man 
something to be thankful for and th^ soldier something more to cuss 
about. A three-day rain made the gumbo something awful. Drill 
was suspended an entire week, but then there were details. The 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 25 

))att('ries \\-ere practicing out at the artillery range and our oui fit had 
details both at the rifle range and with the artillery. 

Compared to the land at Camp Mac Arthur the artillery range 
was a paradise. There were hills and valleys, a riv^r with war.er iii 
it, and green trees in contrast to tlie miles and miles of flat, hrov.n 
laud covered Avith brown and withered cotton stalks, broken here 
and ther^ by the brown, dry stream beds of dried up creeks. The 
range was about twenty-five miles from camp, four miles on the other 
side of China Springs, if you remember where that was. If you do 
not remember China Springs you haven't forgotten anything. It 
was the ''sorriest" looking n€ar-village imaginable wath its dilapi- 
dated shacks and is, undoubtedly, the smallest place which bears a 
name. On one of the buildings was the sign, "City Blacksmith 
Shop," and on the OTHER building, "Big Sue Will Gin Your Cot- 
ton." Four miles farther than that was the artillery range, stretch- 
ing twelve miles square and the prettiest country in that part of 
Texas. 

Sundays were just like any other day in the week, and this was 
really bad news as up to that time Sunday had been considered a 
day of partial rest. It finally dawned that there are no Sundays in a 
regular army like we were becoming. While the seventh day is gen- 
erally looked upon as a day of rest, exceptions to the generally ac- 
cepted custom being certain religious denominations and the U. S. 
army which religiously refuses to observe any civilian custom, the 
seventh day was the seventh day and nothing less. Six days tliere 
was labor and on the seventh there was more labor, only the 
seventh day was like the seventh wave, usually larger than the rest. 

Every few daj'^s General Freezeup was in command for a short 
time and then would come those drizzling rains more penetrating 
than below zero weather in the north. There were some awful things 
said about Texas those days, especially if it happened to be a Sundav 
that tilings were not breaking right. That story about Mexico being 
forced to take back Texas after the United States licked Germany 
was very popular those days. 

Sometimes the imprecations heaped upon Texas were heard by a 
native and then followed a lecture on the wonders of the state. One 
evening down town one of the citizens, who, with a crowd of soldiers, 
was standing in a drug store waiting for a cloudburst to play itself 
out, took it upon himself to set Texas straight in the eyes of the 
noi'therners. 



26 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

Among other things he stated that if Texas was tipped over, the 
boundary line at Texarkana remaining in place and acting as a 
hinge, that part of T6xas down at Brownsville would splash the water 
in Lake Michigan all over Wisconsin. That sort of shut up the 
crowd and put a silencer on the conversation for a few minutes, but 
not for long. 

Texas is sure a big state and therefore has room for all kinds and 
conditions. As Governor Philipp, of Wisconsin, said in his talk at 
Camp MacArthur the time of his visit, "If, in the shifting results o? 
this gr€at world war we can remain shoulder to shoulder and save 
Texas out of the wreck of empires and the ruin and overthrow of 
nations, we shall not want for a place to grow and expand, as Texas 
will be big enough for all of us," and, he should have added, that the 
growth and expansion wouldn't hurt Texas. 

To add to the general feeling about Texas, the women of the 
state, or some women's society of the state, passed a rather slurring 
resolution, at least it was so considered by the soldiers at the time. 
First, they protested against th€ use of tobacco by soldiers and 
adopted a resolution to that effect. Next th^y added Resolution No. 
2 to the effect that Texas girls should not marry soldiers. Of their 
latter protestation there was nothing to say ; of their former meddle- 
some, foolish notion, there is nothing to say either, because if a per- 
son tried to put in print all the things that were said about those la- 
dies this book would never get thru the mails. 

On the marrying proposition the camp commander took that 
matter in hand and it was not for the purpose of shielding and pro- 
tecting the girls, either, but in order to give the poor soldier a square 
d€al. An order came out prohititing the men from marrying without 
the consent of their regimental commander. 

This order followed the report that near-Theda Baras were mob- 
ilizing in Waco with the intention of marrying soldiers to gain war 
risk insurance benefits. Th€se women had been going from one camp 
in the South to another marrying under different names. For each 
husband they received an allotment of $15 a month during his serv- 
ice, also $15 a month from the government, and if fri€nd husband 
died the bereaved widow would receive $57.50 a month for 240 
months, which is quite a long time. It wasn't a half -bad proposition 
for the would-be better-half, in fact she would be better than better- 
half by $15 a month during her dear husband's lifetime and she 
would be all to the good when he went over the top of the last 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 27 

trench to th^ Great Beyond. Two or three such risks and she should 
worry. 

Santa Claus' sleigh bells were becoming audible in the distance 
and it was believed he was bringing a great load to Camp MacAr- 
thur. The mail already was becoming too great for the facilities of 
th€ Waco postoffice and the camp was called upon for help. The am- 
munition train was receiving more mail than any other outfit in the 
division. Christmas was to have a great significance to the men. 
They knew the approaching New Year would bring to them the ex- 
periences of their lives. It was to be the last Christmas on home 
soil for some of them. 

S. C. D.'s were coming thick and fast. The final cleaning up pro- 
cess was in full swing and nobody but the physically fit wer€ to go to 
France. There were quite a number of discharges th€ result of heart 
and lung trouble. Men apparently in the best of health were being 
let out and all because of an attack of pleurisy maybe years before, 
which had left scars on their lungs. The least suspicion of weak 
lungs was considered reason for discharge, and the strength of the 
companies was decreasing as a result, altho a few replacements were 
l)eing received. 

Then came Christmas, and a sort of a lonesome Christmas it was. 
There were plenty of packages from home, and everybody had been 
remembered; the Quartermaster again was real liberal; the drill 
schedule was lightened considerably for the holidays and the weather 
was quite decent, but a sadness prevaded each tent and there was 
little jollification or any great noise about the camp. It was a day 
spent as near to homesickness as any during the entire length of 
service. 



CHAPTER VI. 

New Years and Signs of a Move — The Order To 
Move — Everything Packed — That Snowr Storm 
— The Tie-Up — Entraining and Trip to Port of 
Embarkation — Camp Merritt. 

THEN eauie the New Year, After getting us in the army and 
promising us all kinds of excitement, with Christmas dinner 
in France, Nineteen-Sev^nteen pulled out and left us flat on 
our backs down there in Texas. Nineteen-Seventeen loaded us for 
bear Avith more war equipment than w€ could carry; had us double- 
timing it, expecting to "see the whites of their eyes" almost any 
time ; had us right on our toes in expectancy of some sort of action 
right up to the last minute, and th^n left us — left us marking timc-- 
all dolled up and afraid the show would be over before we got there 
We had acquired the name of the Jawbone Division and then we 
became known as the Red Circle Division. Our baggage was all 
marked up nicely with red discs six-inches in diameter encircling the 
figure 32, making a very nice and distinctive insigna with red, white 
and blue colors. Our Train boxes and trunks were marked with 
gr^en corners readily distinguishing them. A move was certainly in 
tlie air. We were going soon beyond a question of a doubt and the 
hours seemed days and the days seemed weeks the suspense was so 
great. W€ had been at Camp MacArthur more than three months 
and that is too long in any one place for a soldier to remain satisfied. 
To keep an army in good humor the War Department ought to move 
it at least once a month and now that the government had control of 
the railroads we figured it ought not cost much to movg troops and 
we should be given a change of environment. 

Finally it came. On January 9, 1918, was issued the General 
Order which was to send us to a port of embarkation. The 107th 
Engineer Train was th€ first on the schedule to leave, the 107th Field 
Signal Battalion was next, then came the 107th Supply Train and then 
the 107th Ammunition Train in the fourth and fifth railroad trains. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 29 

the Motor Section to leave first with the Horsed Section immediately 
following. 

There was Excitement and hustle and bustle about Section E. 
Final trips to town were made for some articles which had been over- 
looked in the final process of stocking up with the things we would 
need ' ' over there ' ' ; and letters hom€. Freight, baggage and other 
property of the organization was being boxed up properly; tents 
cleaned up and everything about camp policed like Spotless Town. 
Tht' Engineers had already pulled out in tourist Pullmans and the 
Signal Battalion went next. Then we said Good-bye to the Supply 
Train, and we were to be next. Our coaches were to pull in on the 
old Remount Station siding at any time. Our entire equipment ex- 
cept our blanket rolls was loaded in box cars which already had been 
spotted. Whoops ! We were going at last ! 

Then, down from the Panhandle, came a Texas norther that 
would make a Wisconsin March blizzard look like a gentle snow 
Hurry. It was the worst snow storm Waco had experienced since 
1867 or some such date. The temperature dropped to below freezing, 
and it was, 0, so cold ! Waco froze up. Camp Mac froze up. The 
street car service and the service cars froze up, as did our train of 
Pullmans. When we awoke the morning of January 11 wE were cov- 
ered with snow as we lay between our blankets in our tents. For- 
tunately the tents had not been taken down when we w€re packing 
to leave. Snow banks were so deep that all transportation was im- 
possible, and for all we knew our boat was laying at the dock some- 
where' around New York waiting for us. It was probably the most 
bitter disappointment of our experience. Field ranges and cooking 
utensils were all loaded in the cars as was our food. We had gone to 
bed in bare tents the night before with the expectation of having 
breakfast aboard the train. 

It was experience and adventure we started looking for when we 
joined the army and we wer€ getting it in doses that almost made us 
yell, ' ' Enough ! " It was 10 o 'clock Thursday night when the storm 
broke and it raged the whole night long. Snow came into the tents 
as tho they were made of mosquito bar. It came so thick and fine it 
penetrated every crack. Friday morning it turned very cold, just a 
few degrees above zero, and with but little of anything to eat Valley 
Forge, the Spirit of '76 and old Geo Washington had but little on us. 

With the street car service tied up and jitneys lin^d up the en- 
tire length of the four miles to the city all stuck in snow banks, there 



30 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

was small chance of getting to Waco to warm up and get something 
to eat. And then, almost houi'ly, there were rumors that our train 
was being thawed out and was likely to pull in at any time. Finally 
we heard the plumbing had frozen up on all the cars and that the 
bursted pipes were being repaired. Friday night was very, very 
cold, and the blankets very, very thin. Some way the night passed. 
Saturday morning dawned somewhat warmer and by 10 o'clock the 
camp was a sea of slush. Somehow the day passed. We received 
definite information that our train would be ready some time during 
the night and as it was only a question of hours we were cheered by 
the news. Midnight came and no train; 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock, and 
still no train; 3 o'clock and still awake and sleepless. A few min- 
utes later and that old train came snorting into Section E, and never 
was a train boarded more eagerly. At 4 o 'clock the morning of Jan- 
uary 13 we left Camp Mac Arthur ; left it for good — Good. 

We tumbled into the berths and went to sleep — such a relief 
after those two awful days. Five hours later when we awakened we 
were still in Waco, but on the outskirts of the town. It was a slow 
train. That night about 7 o'clock we reached Houston, Texas, and 
for nearly two hours marched about the city. It was nice and warm ; 
the air was balmy; it seemed ages since we left Camp MacArthur, a.s 
tho we were in another clime. The trip was enjoyable ; meals were 
good ; berths w^re fine. 

At 5 o'clock that same day the Horsed Section pulled out of 
Waco and we all traveled the same route. 

Traveling over the N. 0. and T. P. Ry., we reached the Missis- 
sippi River the next morning and lay opposite Baton Rouge for sev- 
eral hours. There was a heavy wind, making the river quite rough 
and the ferry had difficulty in loading and unloading the coaches. 
Late in the afternoon we were in the city of Baton Rouge, nearly an 
hour and had an opportunity to visit the town whose citizens were 
most kindly and liberal. It was midnight when New Orleans was 
reached and the fact that it was so lat€ was quite a disappointment. 
Tuesday morning we were off the train at Hattiesburg, Miss., limber- 
ing up by a march about the town for an hour. The officers were 
quite grouchy as their negro porter had missed th€ train and been 
left at New Orleans. Travelling east from Meridan, Mass., we went 
thru Birmingham, Ala., that night and Wednesday morning our loco- 
motive puffed and snorted and jerked th€ train along thru the hills 
that were almost mountains at the Alabama and Georgia boundary. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 31 

From the nice warm weather of Louisiana and Mississippi we were 
traveling into a colder climate. There was ice in the fields. 

No reveille, no taps, we did not care if the train was running be- 
hind its schedule. It was raining and disagreeable when we reached 
Atlanta, Ga., and our stop was at the outskirts of the city where one 
man from one of the companies was taken to a hospital with symp- 
toms of scarlet fever. We had also lost one man at Houston where he 
was transferred to the army hospital suffering from measles. 

We traveled thru the Carolinas and Virginia, marched about the 
city of Washington, and left another man at John Hopkins hospital, 
Baltimore. Lieut. Winch of Co. A was also left at a hospital in the 
East, having been ill even before the outfit left Camp MacArthur. 
At Philadelphia ladies of the Red Cross had a nice warm lunch for us. 
Finally, on the morning of January 19, we arrived among the snow- 
banks of Camp Mcrritt, having been on the road 6 days and 6 nights. 

Camp Merritt was then a cantonement suitable for cold weather, 
but congested, and located fifteen miles north of Hoboken. We came 
in over the Erie. There was no room for drill expect on roads which 
were busy with traffic. It was very cold with several inches of snow. 
The health conditions at the time were not very good, there being 
numerous cases of milder contagion, pneumonia and some throat 
diseases. Company C was qnarantined with measles and it was cer- 
tain there would not be any great rush in getting the outfit aboard 
ship. Just before we left Waco Captain Jensen was relieved of the 
command of Company C and placed on special duty with Divisional 
Headquarters while Captain Dayton assumed command of the com- 
pany. From the time Company C was quarantined until our organiza- 
tion was aboard ship thei-e was a steady job for the eoinpany clerks 
in making out their morning reports and other paper work incident 
to the many changes caused by men going to the hospital and coming 
back men being quarantined or being isolated. There were oppor- 
tunities to visit New York City and other nearby cities, but with 
meatless, heatless, lightless, theaterless days and nights New York 
wasn't the place we had heard so much about. Merritt Hall was 
just being opened and dedication ceremonies were held while we were 
there. Theodore Roosevelt addressed the soldiers one day in the large 
"Y" building. There was little amusement in the camp. The bar- 
racks were well lighted, well h€ated and well ventilated, but the 
me.ss was nothing to brag about, except the bread, which was very 
good and often referred to in later days. 



CHAPTER VII. 

The Last Night in the U. S. A. — The Orduna— Hali- 
fax, and Nearer Home Than When We Left 
Texas — ^Scene of the Holocaust — The Convoy 
— Sea-sick Soldiers — Attitude of the British- 
ers — In the Danger Zone — Appearance of the 
"Watch Dogs" — In St. George's Channel — 
Liverpool — Winchester Hill. 

THE last night in Camp Merritt was a busy one. Right on the 
ev^ of departure, when the final returns were being prepared, 
came an order from the camp headquarters taking men from 
each of the companies and quarantining, or isolating, them because of 
exposure to measles. The order upset Everything in our part of the 
camp. Not only must all passenger lists be revised but field returns 
must be changed, and as it was the last day of the month a midnight 
return was also necessary. It was a busy time and final returns were 
not received from the companies until long after midnight. 

At 2:30 o'clock the morning of February 1, everybody was 
awakened. There was breakfast and we left camp at 4 :30. It was 
pitch black and the only sound was the crunch of heels on the hard, 
snow-packed roadway in the crisp, biting cold of early morning. 
Commands were given in low tones. Somebody whispered, "We're 
sneaking up on 'em," and so it seemed. Everything was mysterious 
thos€ days. The march was to Cresskill where we entrained for 
Hoboken, N. J. Crossing on a ferry to the Cunard Line Pier No. 54, 
New York, we embarked on the British S. S. Orduna, a Pacific Steam 
Navigation Company passenger ship under charter to the Cunard 
Line. 

In a surprisingly short time after we w€re aboard the Orduna 
cleared. Out the river, past the Statue of Liberty, off Sandy Hook and 
we were on our way, bound for foreign shores, providing we encount- 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 33 

ered no submarines and w6re sent to land which was only five miles 
away, but straight down. 

Aboard the Orduna were 27 officers and 658 men of our Ammu- 
nition Train, 33 casual officers, 6 army field clerks, 50 civilian pass- 
engers and 112 nurses, 12 of the latter for duty with the British and 
the remainder for th€ A. E. F. Colonel McCuUy, our commanding 
officer, was in charge of all troops aboard. 

The Orduna, a very substantial boat and seaworthy, formerly 
sailed in warmer waters and was not fitted up for extreme cold 
weather, so we did not suffer any from th^ heat. First and second 
class accommodations were very good but the quarters for the men 
were far from being desirable. We learned we w^re bound for Hali- 
fax, Nova Scotia. The first night immediately it became dark all 
windows were closed and not a ray of light was allowed to escape to 
the outside of the ship. Papers were attached to the windows and the 
blinds drawn back of the curtains. There was piano music and sing- 
ing, and early to bed to make up for the sleep missed the night before. 

The remainder of our voyage across the Atlantic thru a sea then 
believed to be literally alive with submarines is best told in the fol- 
lowing extracts from a diary kept of the trip : 

February 2. — Very pleasant and not so cold. An English civilian 
aboard who has been all over the States and knows Waco. He resents 
the attitude of America and deplores the fact that th€ United States 
does not realize the seriousness of the situation. He lost 12 members 
of his family and says the United States will wake up whdin the cas- 
ualties begin to hit the communities, and he looked at us as tho he 
considered us prospective casualties. Aboard is also Patsy O'Brien, 
sapper in the Royal Engineers and one of England's "Old Con- 
temptibles, ' ' who has been over the top seven times and is going back 
to fight some more after two months visit at his home in the Bronx, 
New York. Only two guns visible on our ship and both thre^-inch 
ones. Going to meet convoy at Halifax. 

February 3. — In Halifax at 10 A.M. and up to the city at noon. 
Past the scene of the holocaust and terrible devastation. Assignment 
to life boats. Halifax, and nearer Wisconsin than when w€ started on 
our trip from Texas three weeks before, which seems very strange 
after all the distance we have travelled. The snow-eovered shore line. 
Harbor full of ships camouflaged in all the colors of the rainbow and 
awaiting other ships of our convoy. The hospital ship ashore — went 
on in October 1917. We lay in the basin above the city. 



34 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

February 4. — Lay in Halifax harbor all day loug awaiting couvoy 
which is to be one of the largest that has left in several months and 
reported to be 13 or 14 ships. Weather warmer but no sun. Snow 
during the night. Had first life boat drill. 

February 5. — Signs of moving — mail ashore at 9 A.M. Up an- 
chor at 1 P.M. From the inland harbor past the city and the wreck- 
age. Hillsides pitted with cellars and foundations of wa-ecked build- 
ings tell of how death came to 1,500 souls and how 5,000 others were 
injured. Yesterday the court at Halifax found the captain and pilot 
of the Mont Blanc guilty of murder and caused their arrest. Th^ 
Belgian Relief Ship ashore wrecked, and Patsy O'Brien's suspicions 
that maybe everybody involved had not been indicted. Our convoy 
under way and out to sea. Awful cold and a heavy, biting wind with 
quite a sea. Ten big ships, many of them carrying Canadian soldiers 
and other outfits from our division, the U. S. crinser South Dakota in 
our convoy. The cruiser Utah also at Halifax, also other cruisers and 
several submarines. The mine-protected harbor Entrance. Soon as 
we are out to sea the great ships appear to be jockeying for position 
and soon all are abreast as for a race across the ocean. Th€ positions 
change and the boats are spread out in many directions. The cruiser 
steams opposite the Orduna, which is in the rear of the convoy. Ex- 
pect more ships in th€ morning. Fog envolops the boats a short dis- 
tance from us and as darkness comes on the other ships fade into the 
mist and we are alone. Mai de mer very much in evidence as the ship 
starts rolling. Supper is not greatly appreciated as one by one the 
men leave the tables. Many who laugh and many who do not. It is 
early to bed for a lot of sick soldiers. Hear tales of big seas when 
porpoises are washed on deck and other terrors of a February cross- 
ing ar€ described by some of the ship's crew. An 800-pound porpoise 
story almost believed. 

February 6. — No ships in sight this morning and the Ordima 
seems deserted. About 10 o'clock the cruiser hove in sight. Toward 
evening the ships are all together again but this time th^re are thir- 
teen ships in the convoy. The painful fact is recalled that we left 
Camp MacArthur on the 13th of the month and sailed from New York 
on Friday. Nice pleasant prospects, as someone else points out that 
there are 13 different units aboard ship and that there are 13 eating 
at our table. Boat drill during the day, also exercise about the decks 
by the men as well as by th€ officers and nurses. Guard and police 
details. Change of time and trouble in keeping watches right. Ad- 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 35 

vance clocks half-hour ahead at midnight and add a few minutes 
more. Convoy travelling about 11 knots an hour. Story the band- 
man told of the base-drum player marked "no duty'' at the infirmary 
because he had a split lip. 

February 7. — Sea as calm as a stream. Ships travelling together 
and spread out scarcely a half-mile apart. Weather quite warm, too, 
as we are in the Gulf Stream. Can expect another week at sea we are 
told by one of the navigating officers. Two cases of measles aboard. 
Out on deck in the dark without coats or hats — real warm. 

February 8. — Snowing. Strange, but the Englishmen seem al- 
most to resent our presence aboard and our active entry in the war. 
"It's supplies — food — we want, not men," they remark. "You are 
using one hatchAvay on the Orduna for your supplies," one said, "and 
that space you are using takes just that much space from us." They 
act as tho they were hungry and that we should simply fill their 
stomachs. The cabin steward Avho asked for Major Gray's sergeant 
and when told it was Sergt. Hass he wanted and that the sergeant 
could be paged in the lounging room, said, "You know bloomin' well 
I cawnt go before those ladies up there and awsk for Sergeant 'Ass.' " 

February 9. — Sun shining brightly and quite a heavy sea from 
the West which makes nice riding on the crest of the big waves. 
Early in the morning we led the fleet, th€ ships being scarcely 500 
yards apart and we were the middle ship of this * formation. The 

relative positions * are not retained very long. Sometimes we 
are straggling with- * out any apparent regular formation. 
Field glasses were is- * sued today to the lookouts and we 
have started standing a- * round watching the water. We are 
assured that subs attack * only in comparative calm and it 
is about 50-50 with some of * the soldiers whether they prefer 
rough weather with a heavy sea * and the lesser chance of at- 
tack, or a smooth sea and the subs. * In this big convoy it 
seems a submarine would have scarce- * ly a chance but a fleet 
of them could do some damage. Begin- * ning to look for- 
ward quite anxiously to the arrival of the * torpedo boat des- 
troyers which are to escort us thru the dan- * ger zone. The 
ships of the convoy are continually changing po- * sitions. For 
five minutes w^e steer one direction and then at right-angles the next 
five minutes, continually zig-zagging. 

February 10. — Sunday, and the second Sabbath at sea. Th€ trip 
is becoming monotonous. Seas somewhat larger but the sun is shin- 



36 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

ing again, making it very pleasant. Today it was reported about the 
boat that the Tuseania, with the 107th Supply Train aboard, had been 
torpedoed by a submarine. Our wireless had picked up the message 
February 7th but the information was not made public about the boat. 
We were originally scheduled to travel with the Supply Train and in- 
wardly Vv^e bless the storm that delayed lis in Texas. 

February 11. — The Orduna gets the protection of the fleet the en- 
tire time night and morning. The positions of the ships with our 
boat in the center as so: 



It is reported that we have valuable cargo 

aboard, and it also may be because we 

have the women aboard. For 

whatever rea- son it is we are 

quite glad of the care they 

are taking of us. 

February 12. — Everybody is on the lookout for th€ torpedo boat 
destroyers. They are due at any time. Tomorrow morning we enter 
the danger zone. We lost nearly a day when one of the tankers in 
the convoy broke down and the speed of the remainder of the ships 
reduced to three knots to let the oiler overtake us. Nice and warm 
today. Ship's orders out that beginning tomorrow morning at nine 
o'clock everybody aboard must continually wear or carry a life pre- 
server. The danger zone is right upon us and there is the continual 
dread of b^ing torpedoed. Ship's officers and crew do not take the 
danger as indifferently as we supposed after hearing so much of theiv 
danger on previous voyages when they were forced to take to the 
boats, altho they nonchalantly speak of the danger as a "risk" which 
sailors must take. They look for the worst each trip. This is the 
thirty-second trip across the Atlantic of the Orduna since the war 
and so far she has escaped. Several of her officers and men had been 
torpedoed on other ships. 

February 13. — And it is the lucky day. It is worth the price of 
admission to this man's army to see the approach of th^ "watch dogs" 
of the ocean, for such are the destroyers. We are completely sur- 
rounded and encircled this afternoon by eight destroyers. Th€y ap- 
pear to be about 100 feet long and their speed is as great as 50 miles 
an hour. They cut circles around us and are all about — in front, be- 
hind, to starboard, to port, circling and speeding. It is a sight worth 
everything to behold. We feel safer with these watch dogs about 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 37 

than with as many cruisers. Our cruiser, by the way, has not been 
with us for 24 hours. The tanker broke down again and a second 
tanker and the cruiser remained behind. 

February 14. — At 9 A.M. a ship 's officer said we are about thirty 
hours from Liverpool. Since yesterday morning at 9 o'clock we have 
been lugging around our life preservers and web belts and last night 
w^ went to bed fully clothed. We are in the danger zone. Not a 
light was allowed above the lower deck and cabins, saloons and smok- 
ing rooms were in darkness. This morning we are 150 miles from the 
Irish coast. The ship's course has been north all night long so there 
is no telling what course we followed coming across this far to the 
approach to England. We are very glad the trip is coming to an end. 
It has been very tiresome, especially the last week. Same old scenery 
continually, same old oc€an, same waves, same interior views, same 
nurses and same officers flirting. Same old luck playing Black Jack, 
but there is an educational value attached to the game. We learn the 
English coinage system with its "twelve" multiples. It do€s not 
seem possible that we are in the dreaded danger zone where thous- 
ands of lives and billions of dollars in ships have be^n lost. We slept 
soundly all night even with clothes on. We "novices," as Fred the 
waiter calls us, do not realize the danger, he says. Fred has been tor- 
pedoed three times and dreads each passage thru the zone. "Better 
be foolish than wise and you won't worry," he says. Have seen a 
whale spout and the South Dakota chase it, the cruiser showing sur- 
prising speed and circling about the convoy before returning to its 
place. 

One of the greatest indoor sports of the voyage has been the 
arguments with the Britishers, who appear positively jealous of us. 
It is all friendly rivalry and banter but we get under their "hides" 
occasionally. They call us imitators and we argue "originators." 

Asked for an instance of our imitation and one of th€m replied : 
"Even the language you speak." 

"Why," we explained, "we speak the American language, of 
wdiich English, as you speak it, is a dialect." 

Sometimes in our arguments it is fully fifteen minutes before we 
are friendly again. They are easily "kidded." 

There is a little Scotchman aboard who has been an engineer on a 
South American trade ship out of New OrMans and he is going home 
to register and do his bit, whatever it may be. He is not much more 
than a youngster. The feeling between the English and the Scots- 



38 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

men is quite marked. In our arguments the Scotsman favors us, and 
that causes the wrath of the Englishman to rise. The little Scotsman 
says he is an Englishman as long as the war lasts, but after that he 
will be a Scotsman for life, and the Englishman goes off to 
bed, too angry to argue further. 

February 15. — Last night at 9 :30 we sighted the Fashnet Light 
and a little later the light of the "Bull, Calf and the Cow" on the 
southernmost coast of Ireland. At 10 o 'clock this morning we entered 
St. George's Channel with the coast of England to the right and Ire- 
land to the left. We passed Queenstown and Fishguard and one 
would think we were safe from the submarines, but not so. "We are 
right in the most dangerous part right now, ' ' says Fred, the steward ; 
''on one trip we were chased clean into Birkenhead." It seems 
strange the English cannot patrol their own St. George's Channel with 
land less than seventy miles away on either side of us. The narrowest 
part of the channel is from Rosslare Harbor, Ireland, to Fishguai'd 
Harbor, England, a distance of fifty-four nautical miles. By the Fish- 
guard route we are 140 miles from Cork, but a long, long way froru 
Tipperary. The' next narrow stretch is between Dublin and Holy- 
head, which is sixty miles. We are not safe anywhere in St. George 's 
Channel or in the Irish Sea. Safe no place from the subs, it seems. 
We will be compelled to wear the life preservers until we pass the 
Liverpool harbor light. * * * * Tjjg destroyers have dropped 
depth bombs and we have been running at all angles for an hour. It 
is claimed a couple of submarines have been in our vicinity. It do€s 
not seem reasonable that the U-boats can go wherever they please in 
these waters. At 6 P.M. vr€ are within a few hours of Liverpool and 
we have not sighted land since we left Halifax. A haze is over the 
water and while we keep near the middle of this body of Avater it is 
impossible to see shore. We won't see land until we awake tomorrow 
morning and then we will be at anchor or ti€d to the dock. The 
watch dogs are still with us and will remain until the end of our voy- 
age. The Orduna is still getting the protection of the fleet. 

February 16. — When we awoke we were tied to the dock, having 
eome over the bar at 2 A.M. We unloaded at 10 A.M., and a fine re- 
ception awaited us. Dozens of ambulances with crippled Canadian 
soldiers on their way home were at the pier. In the 200 crippled sol- 
diers there w€re not over 200 legs in the lot and about as many arms. 
One Canadian, shaking the stub of his leg at us, yelled, "Be sure and 
bring a souvenir back with you." Left Liverpool a little after 12 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 39 

o'clock on a funny little toy train bound for Winchester in Southern 
England. We traveled over the road of the Great Western and the 
trip was wonderful. In all our reading, and with all we had been 
told, of England, we never realized the beauty of this country. The 
train showed unsuspected speed. We came thru Chester, Crewe, 
Shrewsbury, Wellington, Wolverhampton, Worch€ster, Eversham, 
Oxford, Didcot, Newbury to Winchester. Old England was an eye- 
opener to us. Intensiveness is shown on every hand. Every foot of 
land is utilized. Roadways are narrow and smooth. Beautiful green 
hedges divided the fields and there was scarcely a fence to be seen. 
Houses all of brick, and pretty, not a single wooden structure did we 
see until Ave reached camp. Colored brick, white window and door 
frames predominated in the plan of structures ; all were ivy covered ; 
all as beautiful and clean as playhouses. We arrived at Winchester 
at 9 o'clock in the evening and marched to camp about two miles 
from town and it was up hill just about every foot of the way. ' ' That 
Winchester hill ! ' ' Lodged in huts and almost too tired to make up 
the bed, or, rather, the excuse for a bed. 



PART 11. 

In the American Expeditionary Forces. 



The days we spent and the life we led as members of the American 
Expeditionary Forces will be described in the succeeding chapters in the re- 
vised letters of the author of this book. Some of our experiences were re- 
lated in letters published in the newspaper with which the author was 
connected when he entered the service. Each letter will be preceded by a 
description of our activities, stations and other matter relating to move- 
ments of moment which may have occurred in the interim. 





CHAPTER I. 

At Winnal Down Rest Camp — Tuscania Survivors 
— ^Winchester — England and Her Food Ques- 
tion — The Petty Country and Villages — Sol- 
diers' Letters and Mail. 

UR FIRST DAY in England, February 17, was a Sunday and 
we slept late, having breakfast at 10 o'clock. We learned we 
were at Morn Hill camp, occupying a part of the section 
called Winnal Down, the portion of the camp given over to American 
soldiers. The camp commands a magnifici^nt view of the Itchen val- 
ley. Nearly all of the buildings are of steel construction covered in 
by corrugated iron and painted Avhite. We were told we would have 
an opportunity to visit historic Winchester and subsequently we did 
liave the opportunity of inspecting the old Cathedral and other points 
of interest about the city, whicli at one time had been the capitol of 
England. 

Our first day was spent principally in talking with the survivors 
of the Tuscania whom we also found at this camp. Our old neighbors 
of the 107th Supply Train had certainly had an experience, and but 
for the snow storm at Waco we would undoubtedly have been on the 
ship with them. The Tuscania was the last of the Anchor Line ships, 
all had b€en torpedoed. The submarine hit the Tuscania when the 
ship was but three hours from port, near Belfast, Ireland. The tor- 
pedo struck in the coal bunkers just as 6 o'clock supper was being 
served. From the reports we received ther€ was a veritable panic 
aboard. The ship remained afloat one and one-half hours and still 
190 lives were lost. Those lost, in the main, wer^ men who jumped 
overboard. Destroyers were said to have rammed two of the life 
boats in the darkness. Ropes from one of the life boats became 
caught in the pulley block and the rope was cut, but the wrong rope 
was severed and a boat on the upper deck davits crashed to the 
water, striking another boat which had just been launched, killing 
several of its occupants. We were told that five Mexicans, stabbing 



42 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

their way to the life boats, were shot. One officer and one private, 
hysterical it was said, committed suicide by shooting th€niselves. 
The survivors told of one officer who shouted, "Make room for a 
sick man," and himself slid down a rope to a life boat. The phrase 
later became quite popular when the mess line, or some other line, be- 
came congested. The survivors were picked up along the coast of 
Scotland and Ireland for days after the catastrophe and many of 
the dead were not known for days owing to their identification tags 
being blank. The survivors were around camp wearing English sol- 
dier clothing, having lost all of their own. 

We learned positively that about 2 -.30 o 'clock of the last after- 
noon of our voyage we had been attacked and that the destroyer, 
n-A8, had dropped depth bombs. We also learned that there was a 
reward offered by the German admiralty for the Orduna, which had 

successfully evaded the U-boats since the beginning of the war. 

• * « « 

An American Rest Camp, England, February 20, 1918. 

It's a rainy, dismal day and not a thing to do. Sinc€ we have 
been here each day the sun has shown brightly and it has been quite 
warm, but the "natives" say it is but a break in the weather and 
that we must expect cold and wet. It doesn't rain "cats and dogs" 
h^re, instead the clouds just descend to earth and saturate every- 
thing with their dampness. Wood here is distributed by the pound, 
and coal is "rationed" in small quantities so the best we can do is sit 
around the dinky stove and write letters on a day like this. The 
stove is no larger than a doll hous^ heater and gives out about as 
much heat. 

The government here sets the price of everything and regulates 
the allowance of everything — tells you what, and how, you may €at. 
The daily allowance per capita is just so much and woe to the food 
"hoarder," A newspaper in London carries a column headed "Food 
Problems Solved," in which they answer the questions of their read- 
ers. To a person used to eating when, what and where he pleases, 
some of the questions and answers are really amusing and t€ll of con- 
ditions one would think were almost impossible. 

A business man taking his meals in London and having his home 
outside the city must sign a special declaration and present it at the 
plac€ he gets his meals. 

A visitor from Ireland upon arrival in London must apply for an 
emergency food card in order to get anything to eat. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 43 

A cliild on becoming ten years of age must go thru considerable 
red tape in order to get adult ration allowance. 

Is. 3d, or thirty cents is the m^at allowance a week. 

Here is one question and answer : Q. — If a farmer finds a rabbit 
nibbling his green vegetables, may he knock it over, carry it home 
and cook it? A. — Yes, providing he does not use it to supplement 
his meat allowance. 

Just try to imagine such conditions at home and you get an idea 
of food conservation. When your County Council of Defense gets to 
working along those lines, you will be beginning to realize there is a 
war. 

Four ounces of margarine (butter) is the weekly allowance. 

A food card is issued to every person at a certain location and a 
servant leaving a present situation must get a transfer card before 
he or she eats again. Servants who come to work by the day bring 
their own food cards and hand them to the mistress of the household, 
also registering at her grocer's and baker's. This allows h€r to draw 
food for them and obviates the difficulty of their bringing their own 
rations with them. 

We have eaten more mutton since we left the States than ever 
before in our lives. Mutton is the only meat we have seen since we 
finbarked at New York. The English are having a great hullabaloo 
over their tea, that great necessity of their daily life. For three Bobs 
(shillings) they get a pound of camoviflaged shavings, sawdust and 
other trimmings that is not at all as gratifying and comforting as 
their former brew and an Englishman without his tea is knocked out 
completely. 

While we are allowed considerable liberty here we are not given 
passes of any kind and must confine our "bumming'' to the villages 
in the vicinity. The villages are all very interesting but in weather 
like this it is not much pleasure roaming around the country. We 
have been on many walking trips visiting the nearby towns. Eaton, 
two miles away, it a quiet, sleepy, beautiful village. There we visited 
the "pubs"— ''The Crickiters" and "The Chestnut House." Very 
weak ale is four pence a pint and spirits a shilling a small drink. The 
climate of this part of England appears to be about three months 
ahead of Wisconsin. The grass and the fields are all green 
and pretty. Plowing is being done in every field. These last few days 
have be€n delightful for wandering about the countryside but today 
is extremely disagreeable. Everybody is writing letters home and 



44 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

these will be the last letters from England. We received orders this 
afternoon and we leave for France tomorrow. 

As soldiers' letters to the U. S. are entered free the home towns 
must be deluged with mail. Formerly in soldiers' correspondence the 
addressee paid the postage, but now if the name and organization of 
sender appears in the upper left hand corner of the envelope the letter 
goes thru fre6. Picture post cards can now be sent to the United 
States but not to neutral or allied countries, providing the cards do 
not show localities or places. Personal photographs may also be sent 
and gifts of gloves, handkerchiefs and small articles of clothing of 
that nature. Free entry of parcels from abroad to men and officers 
of the A. E. F. is now allowed. All that is necessary is a statement of 
contents of parcel which may be tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, playing 
cards, wines, etc., and indicates freedom from payment of all customs 
duties and in most cases of excise duties. 

Tobacco in England, that is American tobacco, is impossible to 
obtain where we have been, and as our baggage with our stocks of 
tobacco is probably in France by this tim€, we are reduced to the sad 
circumstance of smoking some of these English atrocious "trophies." 
The tobacco question in England is now attracting considerable at- 
tention. Smokers' supplies are to be cut down before long. There is 
bound to be a tobacco shortage unless importation is increased or 
consumption decreased. An Englishman of prominence says that if 
a shortage occurs the temper and nerves of many consumers will 
suffer and "that is a matter which we cannot regard lightly when 
most men are working at high tension. I believe moreover, that if 
tobacco is taken away the consumption of food will be increased." 
Such as it is, the English will have their ale and their tobacco. 




CHAPTER II. 

Entraining For Southampton — Crossing the Eng- 
lish Channel — Rest Camp No. 2 — Camp Coet- 
quidan a Real Camp — A Regular Home and the 
First One In a Long Time. 

'B LEFT Morn Hill eleven o'clock of the morning of Feb- 
uary 21, marching to Winchester, from wher^, at 12.50 P. 
M. we entrained for Southampton, arriving there less than 
an hour later and spent the afternoon about the wharves, not being 
permitted to visit the city. At 6.30 that evening we embarked on the 
cattle boat. Southwestern Miller, an airy craft for a night crossing of 
the English Channel. The stalls were bare of everything but the 
hard floors. It was an uncomfortable night. We arrived at LaHavre, 
Prance, at four o'clock the next morning, having been convoyed 
across by a fleet of destroyers. Out thru Spithead past the Isle of 
Wright, with the city of Portsmouth on our left, we sailed and befor6 
entering the channel waited for our convoy to be made up. Flash 
lights soaring into the heavens were searching for enemy aircraft 
all about us. Dozens of these lights played in the air. Just the night 
before the city of Dover, on the Channel and not far from us had 
been shelled by U-boats, while London had been raided again by air 
bombers. It was a moonlight night and a bad night to be afloat, but 
the watch dogs again calmed our fears. The distance from South- 
hampton to La Havre is 106 nautical miles and our zig-zag course 
probably increased the distance one-quarter. The distance from New 
York to Liverpool, via Halifax, is 3015 miles, but it was said we trav- 
eled nearly 4,000 miles on the voyage. 

We unloaded at La Havre at eight o'clock on the morning of Feb- 
ruary 22 and marched to Rest Camp No. 2. We remained in camp 
h€re until the following day, when we boarded a train for the train- 
ing camp which was to be our home for several months. Actual dis- 
tance from La Havre to Camp Coetquidan, near Guer in the depart- 
ment of Morbihan, is about 250 kilometers but we traveled approxi- 



46 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

inately 525 kilometers in reaching there. We went via Rouen, Ev- 
reux, Chartres, LeMans and Rennes. We unloaded at Guer after dark 
and that hike to camp will never be forgotten by any of the men who 
wer€ in it. Who ever set the pace put out at a 100-steps-to-the-min- 
ute rate and the short two miles, which we had been told was the 
•listanoe, developed into a good four miles before we got there, but 
we finally found a camp that was worth all the hardships we had 

suffered in reaching there. 

* * * * 

France, February 26, 1918. 

We are finally ' ' over there, ' ' and, we have been deceived ! Ev€r 
since we joined this man's army we have been led to believe that 
France was the jumping off place and that when we reached here we 
were to renounce, and prepare to forget, everything pertaining to 
civilization. 

I had a trunk, a barrack bag, a squad bag and my blanket roll 
filled with stuff that would have cost me thirty dollars for excess 
baggage had I had to pay it, and when I arrived I find I might 
have saved myself money, labor and stress of feelings. We have Ev- 
erything here ; can even buy U. S. tobacco, in limited quantities. 

Of course, we are not at the front — not by a good many miles — 
and are not qualified to say just what conditions are elsewhere with 
the Amexforces, but judging from what we have seen so far, Uncle 
Sam is taking care of his soldi€rs. 

From the home town we went to Camp Douglas, then to Camp 
MacArthur ; next came Camp Merritt, and then an American ' ' Rest 
Camp" in England, closely followed by a "Rest Camp" in France. 
Have had quite an assortment of Camps and likewise an assortment 
of conditions. From the sands and bluffs of Camp Douglas, the gumbo 
of Texas, the snows and ice and congestion of Camp Merritt, the 
starvation rations of England and the unbearable huddled conditions 
of our last "Rest Camp," we have come to the b€st place since we 
left home. We are in the land of "plenty" if not of peace. Under- 
stand, we are not swimming in luxuries, but after the experience of 
the "Rest Camp" in England and the one in France we can be con- 
tent with much less than before we left the States. 

In England the main question is that of food. England, un- 
doubtedly, has plenty, but they are working the conservation game 
almost to a standstill. The principal topic of conversation there is 
food and Eating. Women gossiping over the back yard fence are talk- 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 47 

ing about the quantity of food they were able to i)urchase tliat day ; 
men standing around on street corners look as tho they were wonder- 
ing what they were going to get for dinner. At our "Rest Camp" the 
sole subject was "eats." The English rations we were given were 
alright in quality but the' quantity was not. We used every known 
method of beating the cooks and they were tickled to see us go. They 
said the Germans were "smart," but the Americans were the limit 
and that it takes "the bloomin', bloody Hamericans" to beat the 
Dutch. The comment followed our last meal there when the cooks 
discovered they were something like three-hundred-and-tifty rations 
short, and a ration consists of three meals. We were there less than 
a week, so the record is pretty good. 

The name "Camp Rest" was a misnomer if there ever was one. 
Altho we did not have any work or drill the conditions were such that 
our stomachs were the only parts of our bodies that were rested. And 
the English people— civilians and soldiers — seemed to resent our ar- 
rival here. They appear to be willing that we should feed them, but 
have no business coming over here and using space on ships that 
might otherwise be utilized for foodstuffs for them. They are con- 
tinually thinking of their stomachs. They have the impression that 
the war will soon be over and that the United States will interfere 
with John Bull hogging the spoils. Of course there are many splendid 
Englishmen we met who were pleased to see us and glad we are their 
allies. They depend on our artillery and airships to win the war. 
Their impression is that the States are to furnish thousands and 
thousands of air machines, and tli6y are anxiously awaiting their ar- 
rival. At present the Allies are said to be firing fifty shells to the 
Germans' one and the percentage in time will be overwhelming. 

We ar€ all over the idea that we are warring the German govern- 
ment and not the German people. That stuff is all bunk. The war 
will never end if the States don't get that notion out of their heads 
pretty soon. You can war the Kaiser and his methods until the cows 
com€ home but there will not be any noticeable results until the Ger- 
man people get a touch of some of their own barbarious medicine. 
The war will nev€r be won by airplanes scattering Sunday school 
tracts, and messages of "love thy neighbor as thyself," over German 
soil. 

From the "Rest Camp" in England we crossed to France on a 
cattle boat. English and Australian troops leaving the same time for 
France traveled on a passenger steamer. They wore very careful we 



48 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

never got the best of it. The passage was made at night and there 
was but little protection from the chilly winds. A few of us got by 
the guard and reached the top deck where we slept warm and cosy 
the whole night long curled around the smokestack. We congratulated 
ourselves on our ' ' first-class ' ' passage, but there was an awful shock 
upon awakening at dajdight. We resembled very much the Kaffir 
troops from South Africa. Coal smoke had made "smokes" of us and 
our clothes were simply soaked in soot. W€ were unable to get clean- 
ed up for several days as the same day we reached the Rest Camp in 
France and our clothing had gone forward to our permanent camp. 
It did but little good to wash up and put the dirty clothes back on 
again. "Fed" better at this last (and we hope it is the last) Rest 
Camp, but still were unable to get all the wrinkles out of our stom- 
achs. The sleeping accommodations were fierce, thirteen men being 
huddled in a conical-shaped tent ten feet in diameter, where, with 
feet to the center pol€ and heads against the tent wall we did the best 
we could. It was here we got our first real hunch that there was a 
war on. An Englishman, just back from the trenches and on his way 
to "Blighty," who slept with twenty others in one of thes€ tents, 
remarked the next morning that "it was great to get back to civiliza- 
tion again." 

This Rest Camp was filled with soldiers and men of all colors and 
nationalities, including German prisoners. The soldiers of th€ Allies 
were either going out or coming in from the front. Those going out 
had been on leave and home, or were new men freshly arrived. Of 
all our Allies the men we liked the best were the Australians, the A. 
E, F. from th€ antipodes. They were dressed the best and are said to 
be the best paid soldiers in the world. They appeared more like our- 
selves than any of the other troops and were "regular" fellows. The 
most interesting were the soldiers arriving from the front in for a 
holiday. They came in caked with mud and dirt}^ with long whisk- 
ers and haggard faces. After the cleaning up process, which con- 
sists of disenfection, baths, hair-cuts and shaves, and clean clothes, 
they present an entirely different appearance, ready for the trip to 
"Blighty." Kaffirs and Chinamen, imported as contract labor, and 
Cerman prisoners, do the work. 

There are also many German prisoners here at our permanent 
camp, in fact, ther^ are Fritzes all over France. Every city or com- 
munity thru which we passed had its quota of the Boche. Many of 
them speak English and one man had worked in Chicago. He was 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 49 

perfectly satisfied with his lot and seemed pleased to be a prisoner. 
Th^ only fly in his ointment was in his food, which was not the same 
as when he was a waiter in the Windy City. 

The food question no longer bothers us. We are living "a la U. 
S. A.," with regular Quartermaster rations and plenty of them. 
Were the Germans to trail vis from Camp Douglas to our present lo- 
cation all they would have to do would be to follow the empty tin 
cans left along our route — we left a clear trail. We are thru with the 
tinned rations for a time anyway now, and are getting fed up. 

Don't know how long we will be located here or when we start 
on our regular "job," furthermore, we don't care. We can stand a 
whole lot of this camp without getting tired of it. We want to se& 
active service but there will be plenty of time for that for all of us, 
the way we figure it, so we mean to enjoy this wonderful old country 
while we may. England is old but France was old when England was 
young. This is just the beautiful time of the year, too. It is a little 
early yet but the real warm weather is coming on apace. Judging 
from the way the buildings here are heated there is very little cold 
weather in this part of France. Trees are budding and every green 
thing in the fields is just peeping out. French women and old men 
are doing the agricultural work. The other evening in a French 
town, or just out of it, rather, I saw what might have been the artist's 
models and background for "The Angelus" and it was just as an old 
French church chimes was sounding the Angelus, too. The country 
is so picturesque and old with so many historical associations that a 
person can be content just to wander and wonder over it. Every- 
thing is quiet and peaceful away from the military camps. 

So that you will know just where we are located will give you 
our postoffice address and you will not have any trouble finding the 
camp if you happen to be over this way. This is A. P. 0. (American 
Post Office) No. 711, A. E. F. The number sounds lucky. But, for 
goodness sake, don't address any mail to us at th€ address given; 
continue sending it the old way. Have not received a letter since we 
left the States. Our mail hasn't caught up with us yet and we are 
anxiously waiting for it. Aft€r it once finds us it ought to continue 
regularly until we move again. There is a noticeable shortage in 
reading material, especially American magazines at this camp. 



CHAPTER III 

Our Division a Replacement Organization — Fear 
of Another **Bust Up** — ^Weather in **Sunny** 
France and Its Scenery — Market Day In Guer 
— Getting Fed Up — Camp Activities. 

SHORTLY after the Thirty-Second Division reached France it 
was designated a replacement division and the majority of the 
privates of the 128th Infantry were sent to the First Division. 
At Coetquidan we had little idea of what was to become of us and 
whether we were to continue training as an ammunition train or also 
be sent to the front as replacements. Aside from a balloon squadron, 
an aviation shed or two, with three or four planes, and a few other 
small detachments apparently connected with the hospital or camp 
headquarters, we were the only soldiers in this camp. The artillery — 
57th Field Artillery Brigade to which we were attached — was ex- 
pected but was slow in coming. We practically had the camp to 
ourselves and the drill schedule was light with oflficers allowing the 
men many privileges. While it was only a short time that the 
division was designated as replacement, and that within a couple 
of weeks it was reinstated as a combat division, the information did 
not reach us for a long time and there was the continual expectation 

of an order being received sending us to some other division. 

• • • • 

France, March 6, 1918. 
In my letter of the other day I enthused somewhat over the 
beautiful weather and the budding spring. Want to tell you now 
about snow and rain and sunless days, with mud all over this part 
of Creation. It was an exceptional day or two when we arrived 
here ; since it has been either snow or rain, the snow melting as soon 
as it strikes the ground and now we have a working acquaintance 
with common, every-day mud which is not at all like Texas gumbo 
but just as effective. This French mud is slippery and a person can 
slide down hill in it, which is entirely different than gumbo with the 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 51 

latter 's clinging disposition. There is mud here everywhere. The 
snow is not that of winter, but like the last big flanneled downfalls 
of the late Spring. During the night the patter of rain on the roof 
of the hut is the lullaby and in the daytime it intermitently snows 
and rains. 

We are very anxious to have the sun shine. There are the 
"makings" here of beautiful scenery, and pleasant weather is all 
that is necessary to bring it out. While the weather is not nice we 
live comfortably in barracks or "huts," have cots with springs, 
mattresses and pillows, with good roof and dirt floors. Ditches 
around the building keep out the water and three stoves to the build- 
ing help to keep the place dry. Coal is issued in pressed bricks of 
about fifteen pounds each. Wood is not quite as scarce as it is in 
England. 

Our camp is quite near several villages of about 500 popula- 
tion each. These old hamlets are scattered along the road every 
few miles. The roadway to the largest of these towns is lined with 
cafes, restaurants and small stores of various kinds, all catering to 
the soldier trade. In nearly every place beer and wines are sold 
but the consumption of these drinks by the soldiers is not near as 
great as you would suppose. The wines are cheap, both in price 
and manufacture, and there is plenty of real champagne which is 
not supposed to be sold to the soldiers. The common wines sell for 
a half-Franc a glass and about seventy cents a bottle. Beer is a 
Franc a bottle and not half bad. A Franc at our camp is worth 
about 1714 cents. Barmaids take your order and as a rule a woman, 
whose husband is at the front, is the owner of the place. 

Some of these places are located in old stone buildings that ap- 
pear to be hundreds of years old, while others are of recent con- 
struction and of wood or galvanized iron hastily thrown together 
and an American sign of some kind or other stuck out in front, 
usually with decorations of entwined American and French flags. 

Have always heard a great deal of French cuisine but we are 
a long way from any of it that would make your mouth water. 
The French style of cooking encountered in the States has the na- 
tive mixtures backed off the map. Have't been able so far to even 
get any decent French fried potatoes. 

It is difficult to buy anything to eat here, that is, things we are 
hungry for and for which we hanker. Sweets are almost unob- 
tainable. We crave for candy, chocolate, cookies, even syrup, as 



52 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

some men, sometimes, do for strong drink. Sugar is off the market 
for civilians in a great many places and is not even served in hotels. 
The card system here allows two pounds a month a person. 

In our camp back home we always had our canteens and other 
nearby places where we could buy what we wanted and there was 
considerable lunching and munching going on at all times. The 
regular mess never bothered us much because in a pinch we could 
always fill up some place regardless of what the cooks dished up. 
In our travels after leaving Texas we were so unfortunate as to 
miss a pay-day and our trip from Texas here was made with the 
whole Ammunition Train about broke. En route we fed on rations 
which we were not used to and there was little chance to buy any- 
thing and little to buy with. We became solely dependent on 
the regular mess to satisfy all hunger and you can't imagine what 
an appetite those conditions can create. I would give six dollars 
any day to land back in God's country with the appetite I have at 
the present time, or any other time of late. Can hardly ever wait 
for mess time and get up in the morning at 6 :15 with an appetite 
that is a shame to waste on army rations. Dread even the thought 
of ever being a prisoner of the Fritzies. 

Between meals and ' evenings we lunch on chocolate, walnuts 
and dates. The chocolate is expensive, quantity the amount of two 
Hershey bars costing two Francs, and is to be taken off the market 
entirely. We buy it at the "Y." The walnuts are cheap, very 
cheap, but the worms get to the meat of the nut before we do so 
it's 50-50. Dates and figs are also comparatively cheap. Five car- 
amels, like we buy at home two for a cent, cost a Franc. In the 
larger cities, we are told, almost anything a person wants can be 
purchased, but there is a mighty slim chance of any of us visiting 
any of the larger cities until we have been here several months. 

The nearest village of any size in the vicinity of our camp is 
the oldest and dirtiest place imaginable. The streets are so narrow 
that there are no sidewalks and everybody walks in the middle of 
the street, and without danger of any passing automobile either. 
About the only danger is in stepping in something. Cows, pigs, 
goats and chickens all have just as much right in the street as ped- 
estrians and more privileges. To get into a store it is often neces- 
sary to argue the way with a cow and then after entering crowd 
the chickens and pigs away before reaching the counter. Then by 
the time one gets there he has changed his mind about buying any- 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 53 

thing to eat so pays for a couple of post cards. These postals 
wouldn't pass thru the U. S. mails, and not because of the censor 
either, but they get by here. Anything will go thru the mail here. 
It is claimed that shell shock is one of the serious causes of casual- 
ties in this war, but after a person has been around some of these 
French towns, and seen some of their weekly and monthly magazines, 
he ought to be immune from shocks of any kind. 

Each Wednesday is market day in the village (Guer), and while 
the rest of the week it is the deserted village on market day the 
streets are crowded Avith women and children, old men and farm 
animals, the entire population of the country-side. Everybody has 
a cow or a calf, a sheep, pig or a goat, or a bag of young pigs or 
poultry under the arm or over the shoulder. It is a regular barn- 
yard, the "public square" is, with nothing lacking. Located in the 
center of the village is the "palais de justice" — the court house — 
and before it lies the court yard, but instead of being a thing of 
beauty with bowers and shrubbery, it looks like the dumping place 
for the town. The people jabber and wave their arras and ewecy- 
bo-ly gets excited over trade or sale. It usually takes the entire day 
to make a satisfactory deal. Market day is the custom in every 
village or city here and the larger the place the better the market; 
consequently, the larger the crowd and greater the noise and con- 
fusion. The stock exchange, to an outsider, is not a bit more com- 
plicated. Also remember that women are the big majority at these 
"sessions" and none of them are a bit afraid of soiling their hands 
or dresses catching an escaped porker. From their actions one 
would think the affairs were for "ladies only." 

Today is another Wednesday and I don't know whether or not 
wet grounds interfered with market day, but it is almost impossible 
to do anything around this camp. Other American soldiers that 
had been here in training have all gone to the front and we are 
awaiting the arrival of the artillery to which we will be attached. 
We are almost alone here now and the men that are not segregated 
with mumps are either building a telephone line or are digging 
ditches. 

From appearances here Uncle Sam is in this war to a finish and 
the way he is building for permanency it looks as tho he intended 
sending a great many troops here after we are gone. Scores of new 
buildings are going up and miles of substantial roadways are being 
built. There were not many Americans here ahead of us. The 



54 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

buildings are being erected of tile and the roads of stone and Fritzies 
are doing the work. From what we have seen of these prisoners, 
and they are all around us, there is very little of their "superman" 
qualifications in evidence, unless that it may be in their manner of 
making little stones out of big ones. They sure are great at bust- 
ing up the "hard-heads" for the roadbeds. They also excell in lay- 
ing tile brick. Germany will be remembered in history as a nation 
of wonderful brick-layers and rock-busters if the war keeps up long 
enough and the "hard-heads" hold out. 

Leave "32nd Division" off our address. The old 32nd is all 
busted up as far as we are concerned and we don't know what has 
become of it. So far we are in this thing over here all by our lone- 
some and don't know who we are going to lug ammunition for, if 
for anybody. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Our Sick Soldiers and Artillery Reach Camp — 
Beautiful Surroundings — ^Visits About Camp 
A New Camp Commander — Graduating 
From the **Militia** — Learning How To Walk 
Post — Arabian Philosophy. 

WE RECEIVED but little information regarding the rest 
of our Division. We knew it was in eastern France, in 
the vicinity of Prauthoy, in the department of Haute 
Marne, but that was a long way from us and our idea of what wovild 
eventually happen to our outfit as a whole was vague, indeed. 
Our artillery finally arrived in camp and the drill schedule tight- 
ened. Our sick soldiers, who had been left in Camp Merritt, also 
caught up with us. There were still no signs of trucks, but the 
Horsed Battalion did have a considerable number of horses. Then 
came a new camp commander and a drill schedule the likes of which 
was never seen before. Men on guard stepped 120 a minute and a 
rest at the end of the post meant "parade rest." Cooks were spot- 
lessly white. Policing meant every burnt match and every cig- 
arette butt. Somebody was being hauled over the coals continually. 
There were so many details it would have required a Phila- 
delphia lawyer to keep them straight. Men from the Train were on 
every detail in the camp. Captain Weidman's company was made 
camp Military Police and while they were lenient it was an im- 
possibility to please everyone, especially when the camp com- 
mander was right on the spot to see that every one of his numer- 
ous instructions were carried out to the letter. In our military 
career, as soldiers of a great nation, it may be said right here that 
we learned to salute and walk post, if nothing else, at Camp Coet- 
quidan. 

* « « * 

France, March 15. 
We have had a regular "home coming" this last week. When 



56 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

we left the States nearly half our battalion was in quarantine. 
Just the night before we pulled out the Medics segregated nearly a 
hundred of our men and these were all left behind — some in hos- 
pital and some sick, but the majority were men who had been ex- 
posed to either mumps or measles or some other "kid" disease. 
It seems that a very necessary part of military training is to get, 
and get over, mumps, measles and chicken-pox. When a soldier is 
once left behind by his outfit he becomes a "casual" like the un- 
attached soldier and has no one to look after him. The life of the 
casual is not always a pleasant one. Our big bunch were all cas- 
uals and they had anything but a nice time before they reached 
here, sleeping in all kinds of shacks and stables, eating on the oc- 
casional plan and traveling in box cars. Every box car in France 
is marked : 

"Hommes— 36-40 
Chevaux— 8" 
which means that the capacity of the car is 36 to 40 men or 8 
horses, and it is only the soldier's luck whether he or the chevaux 
occupy the box car. He is indeed lucky if he can travel in a 3rd- 
Class passenger coach. Our casuals had ridden in everything but 
passenger coaches and were certainly tickled to get "home." 

We are most interested now in a "prospectus" issued by the 
Provost Marshal, A.E.F., describing the "leave centre" for sol- 
diers on pass. We are allowed one week every four months in 
service and the Department has arranged that we spend our va- 
cations, if we so desire, in the French Alps among the most beau- 
tiful scenery in Europe. Many old castles, chateaux, monasteries 
and other historical sights are in this region. In each of the places 
there are luxurious Soldiers' Clubs, theatres with English and 
American players, movie halls with the latest American films, 
bands and orchestras, canteens and restaurants run by American 
women, all making the places very much "Amerique." 

We get free transportation to this "area" and are allowed com- 
mutation of rations. Rates at the hotels are very exceptional. 
Guests at these places formerly paid preposterous sums for the ac- 
commodations which will be given us very reasonable. For 175 
Francs one can make the trip and ' ' go the limit. ' ' The Department 
wants us to go and states that "it is an opportunity to be missed 
only for extraordinary reasons." 

Right here "at home" we are located in beautiful surround- 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 57 

ings. We have had wonderful weather the last ten days, summer- 
like and just right for strolling around the country. From the ele- 
vation on which our camp is situated there are a dozen villages in 
view and all in walking distance. In France there are no farm 
houses, or at least very few, the farmers living in little settlements, 
each with its groceries, coffee houses and other small business 
places, and it matters little what the business there is always a bar 
in some corner of tlie premises. 

Since March 12th we are living according to "summer time" 
which is one hour later, the clocks having been set ahead an hour 
on that date thruout England and France, and it gives us just the 
best hour of the day to ourselves. Frequently we leave camp at 
4:30 in the afternoon, when the gates are open, walk over to one of 
the villages, arriving just at the opening hour, have our wine or 
beer, then supper, which is our greatest enjoyment, and stroll back 
to camp before the gates close at 8:30, and all in dayliglit. We 
usually visit a different village each time and have now become 
acquainted with the better places where we can get what we want 
to eat and where they not only know how to make French "fries" 
but other things we like. If we want we can get a pass, go earlier 
in the day and stay later. The work is light, no trouble to get off 
when we want and altogether it is a regular "trip abroad" — so far. 



France, March 26. 

Today we got the news of the bombardment of Paris with guns 
of such caliber, or such make, that a little matter of sixty or sev- 
enty miles is no longer a protection. Distance no longer lends en- 
chantment to the glamour of the "front." Those long distance 
affairs seem to put us so much nearer the excitement. We are glad 
the Boche don't know our address. It seems that is all they need 
now to make a target of one. It is impossible to grasp the idea of 
a gun of any kind that can start a shell on a trip of seventy-five 
miles, or whatever the actual distance is. There simply can't be 
"no such animal," but, if there is, it is sure the Allies will circum- 
vent its effectiveness some way. We are anxious for the papers to 
give us details, and incidentally, details are something we do not 
get a great deal of over here. 

We received our first mail a couple of days ago and are just be- 
ginning to find out what a narrow "escape" we had. Somebody had 



58 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

our ammunition train on the Tuscania and there must have been 
some excitement in Wisconsin. 

The artillery outfit finally reached here — came in last Friday. 
Got a couple of thrills as we stood by the roadside watching the 
regiments marching by with the band playing "Wisconsin." Had 
not heard that blessed air for a long time. The boys looked as tho 
they were coming from the front instead of the States. They were 
dirty and dusty and tired. They too had been in "rest "camps — 
had traveled exactly the same route as we and had been entertained 
by Englishmen. It is easy to tell any of the newcomers as they are 
continually eating something. We are all confined to our res- 
pective units here and are not permitted to visit about camp. 
Measles and mumps are getting in their spring work here, just like 
they do at home, and consequently there is no visiting. We have all 
privileges except "mixing" with outfits other than our own. 

Yesterday, Sunday, a few of us went out "exploring" and 
found another wonderful old place. It was a long walk, fifteen 
miles, at least, we hiked that day, but it was worth it. We came 
across an old castle located in a most beautiful part of this region 
that is one continual thing of beauty after another. From a dis- 
tance the castle was not disceruable in the trees surrounding it, its 
spires towering in the tree tops, and we just popped out on it. From 
our first view we thought it an imposing habitation of some great 
family and were timid in advancing. We soon noticed, however, 
that it had no doors or windows and therefore, there couldn't be 
"anybody home," so we paid our respects. The exterior was pre- 
served but the interior was in ruins, floors ripped up, stairways torn 
down, walls smashed and even the fireplace demolished. The 
structure was of stone and marble, had never been shelled, or in any 
danger zone, of that we are certain, and the cause of it being in 
ruins was a mystery to us. It seemed a shame that an edifice such 
as that should be in ruins and we wanted the story. 

Today we got the "straight" of it from a Frenchman thru a 
"Y" man. The castle had been the residence of a supposedly loyal 
Frenchman, respected, honored and esteemed as a great man by the 
native peasantry who looked up to him as one above their station. 
It developed that he was a German spy, a part of the net work of 
German deceitfulness which infests all countries. He escaped. It 
took some time before the peasants realized their patron was false. 
For days they were stunned, unwilling to believe. The evidence 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 59 

finally became overwhelming and then they awoke. In their wrath, 
and unable to wreck their vengeance on the man, they wrecked the 
castle, but enough of the walls remain so that every soldier from 
the States who happens to find the place finds a place to scribble 
liis name and home address. 

In our wanderings Sunday we found something we are going 
to keep dark, for the present, at least, unless we can get an option 
on it and then charge the rest of the poor soldiers a couple Francs 
a crack at it. It's a swimming hole! The clearest, cleanest water, 
plenty deep enough, and a sand bottom ! It was positively hot Sun- 
day but the water in this little lake was just a little too cold — a 
little "previous" for "going in" but another two weeks and that 
lake will be a treasure, and it is only two miles from camp. 

It actually was very warm Sunday and before we had walked 
many miles we were longing for our cotton 0. D's. When we ar- 
rived here it was rainy and muddy most of the time and we were 
issued rubber boots; one afternoon there was a hail storm and the 
next day we got steel helmets; with the approaching hot weather 

we are expecting parasols. 

« « * # 

Fi-ance, 6 April, 1919. 

Note the date line? Well, that is the way it's done here. Guess 
it's the English style — and that is not the only thing we do like the 
TJritish. Am beginning to find we are copying them in a great many 
ways. Tn some ways they have the proper system. That date line, 
for instance, is not nears as liable to be confusing as our way. As 
near as I can figure out we are following their work system too, 
and it is not at all confusing. From the moment we arise at 5:45 
until tatoo roll call at 8:30 in the evening we are at it continually. 
To top off the day we have an hour's drill each evening from 6:45 
to 8:15. That possibly sounds like more than an hour but it can't 
possibly be because the schedule calls for one hour. 

We are no longer in the "militia." We have graduated. We 
are living under regulations that are a cross between West Point 
and "English system." A button unbuttoned, a whisker notice- 
able, a dirty leggin or a fluttering eyelid is almost cause for arrest, 
and lack of snap in a salute or the refusal of the heels to click prop- 
erly is just about a disgrace to the service. Honest, the United 
States is getting a regular army over here. In the old N.G. there 
was always some chance to "get by'' no matter just what the de- 



60 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

ficiency, but things are different now. You have to be "there" all 
the time, and every condition prescribed in Army Regulations is 
enforced just like it says in the book, and you can't flash any other 
authority. It is Hoyle for the American game over here and no 
chance to protest. 

We are told that the first of the American troops over here 
were lacking in that necessary discipline which makes it impossible 
to disobey a military order. We are being made to understand that 
many men have lost their lives thru inability to obey an order to 
the letter, and that includes some of our own soldiers who were 
among the first of the A.E.F. Of the many who came here first 
very few saw service for months after they arrived. Those of our 
men who are in that awful fight up at the front now have had dis- 
cipline pounded into them ceaselessly for months. That is why they 
were offered to the Allied army at this time — General Pershing knew 
they were ready at last. 

There is a whole lot more to training than just simply phy- 
sical condition and an exact knowledge of how to handle a gun, a 
gas mask or a bayonet. There is that something else, that instan- 
taneous and instinctive obedience under any and all circumstances, 
where the very muscles instinctively obey the word of command 
though the mind be too confused to work, and over here is where 
the soldiers can be imbued with that necessity. 

In the States it was fun, and here for a while it was a "trip 
abroad," but now, with our own men in the thick of it and the 
thousands and thousands dying every day, it is not difficult for us 
to be serious. 

Our pass privilege has been done away with, we are confined to 
almost the exact limits of the camp, it is a steady grind from day- 
light, and before, until night; officers are serious and stern, the least 
slip from the straight and narrow path means trouble, and, at that, 
there is less discontent in our outfit at the present time than ever 
before. 

We have been told that our turn may come any day. We don't 
know. Anyway we are getting tired of this place — been here long 
enough. This "A.P.O. 711" is too much like a steady address, and 
besides there is no use trying to dodge it. 

Remember that old Arabian story about the sheik who got 
the note from the Angel of Death making a date for next Monday 
night? Well, this old Mohammed, or whoever or whatever he was, 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 61 

wasn't quite ready to leave a flock of widows so he sells his camel, 
hops on the limited at Bagdad, or whatever it was, and beats it 
clean out of that neck of the woods, the sly old fox. He stuck to 
that Pullman as tho porters never needed a cent, clear across Africa 
he traveled and Monday night he gets down out of the sleeper at 
Morocco. Now he didn't know a soul in that town and he got the 
surprise of his life when somebody slaps him on the back, grabs his 
grip, and he hears an affectionate voice saying, "Old boy, you had 
me guessing. I was scared you wasn't going to make it," and the 
Angel of Death, smiling and happy all over, helped old man Moham 
into the awaiting taxi. 

In my last letter I told you about visiting all the pretty places 
around here and about enjoying the scenery and all that. Am very 
glad I enjoj^ed it when I had the chance. If I ever get another op- 
portunity I will do it again. For one solid week I have faithfully 
performed the duties of this office. Tomorrow is Sunday. Tomor- 
row afternoon I am going to grease my shoes, wax my moustache, 
slick up my Sunday suit, polish up my chevrons and I am going up 
to the Major's room and nice and politely and "militarily" request 
permission for the rest of the week off, which will be about three 
hours. If I get off, and if it isn't raining cats and dogs, I am going 
oiit and hunt up some more scenery. I know a dandy place, too. 
Supper including wine for eight Francs. 



CHAPTER V. 

Changes In Personnel of Officers — Weather Sim- 
ilar To That of Texas — Our Algerian Allies 
and Chinese Labor — Destined For Details — 
'^Service of the Rear" — The Hospital Wards 
St. Nazaire and Rennes — Memorial Day. 

In the interval covered in this chapter the daily grind con- 
tinued. Captain Jensen, who had been left at Camp MacArthur, 
arrived in France and resumed command of Company C. Captain 
Dayton, who had been in charge of the company, was assigned to 
Company B, taking the place of Captain Rogers who was transferred 
as an Assistant Provost Marshall to England. Lieut. Wessely was 
called back to Division headquarters and was eventually assigned 
to the 107th Supply Train, where he became a captain. The Train 
moved from the barracks it had been occupying to the large stone 
hospital buildings and the new quarters were ideal, the only con- 
dition to complain about was the battalion messes which caused 
long mess lines. Each battalion had but one kitchen but the ar- 
rangement worked out satisfactorily as soon as the cooks became 
accustomed to providing food in larger quantities. 

France, 15 April. 
There is one thing over here that we can censure and the In- 
telligence Office won't censor and that is the weather. He skips 
right over anything pertaining to weather so it is a perfectly safe 
subject. One cannot say too much about the weather. It is abso- 
lutely punk. Two months ago when we landed in England we 
thought it was Spring and by this time we would be enjoying Sum- 
mer, but it is still Spring, regular Lake Michigan Spring with cold 
winds that go right thru one, and rain. It has rained every day for 
two weeks; not continually, but showers, and there is mud every- 
where. The French hereabouts wear wooden shoes over sandals or 
slippers and the mud is just deep enough now to work in over the 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 63 

tops of the wooden shoes and it must be pleasant for the French- 
men, still, they are fortunate they do not live in Texas. The gumbo 
would pull off the wooden kicks faster than they could put them on. 

A similarity of here and Texas is the rainbow. In neither placo 
are they worth a centime. Have seen four rainbows here in one day, 
each one as flashy as an Algerian corporal, and it kept right on 
raining for another week. 

We have with us now a few hundred of our Algerian Allies, 
whom I want to tell you about so in case you run across any of 
them over there you can treat them right. This bunch we have here 
are not exactly soldiers altho they dress in the discards of any army's 
clothes they can find or borrow. They are the same complexion as 
the majority of the laboring class of our South and their hair is 
just as kinky as their minds. Their idea of a good joke is to steal 
one's breeches or anything else they can lay their hands on. They 
love work of any kind in which they have some tool to use, such as 
a shovel or pick or something with handle long enough so they can 
lean on it. A bunch of our men are bossing this labor, supervising 
carpenter, mason and road building work. The soldiers understand 
as much of the Algerians' jabber as the Algerians do of the Araex 
dialect, so they get along splendidly. 

When the colored gentleman lays a brick right or accidentally 
happens to do anything else right the Amex boss smiles and shakes 
his head "Yes." The Alger is so tickled to think he has done some- 
thing right that he starts telling the rest of his crowd about it and 
they drop their work and come running over to squat down and 
make a great fuss about it. Some days that single crew of not more 
than forty has laid as many as nineteen bricks. 

But things do not always run so smoothly for the boss. More 
often the Alger doesn't get it right a-tall. Then the boss shows him 
how-to-do. I watched one of the boss masons the other afternoon 
for awhile. He had his coat off and was slinging "mud" in great 
shape. Back home he had been a mason contractor and he knew 
how-to-do alright. His audience admired his technique for quite a 
while before quietly slipping away. He was mixing his o^vn mortar 
when I left, but for once his "crew" had a regular day's work to 
show when night came. 

There is one boy connected with the outfit, tho, that can make 
them hustle. The first time I saw him I thought surely he was a 
general at least, ail dolled up in red with gold and blue braid and 



64 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

a bright red turban with a tassel, the general effect being exactly 
like a flamingo. When the sun shines it is impossible to look at him 
without colored goggles — and he is a corporal. If the Allies want 
to put one over they should stick a bunch of Algerian officers on the 
front line and burn the eyes out of the Huns. The way this cor- 
poral shows his countrymen's efficiency is with a stick about the 
size of a hickory stick. His best work is with the bunch digging 
ditches. He walks along the top of the ditch and as soon as a back 
straightens out for a rest and a head bobs up he cracks it with the 
stick. If it happens to be an exceptionally stout tree limb it will 
last several hours, but in the end the little willing workers always 
beat the game because the corporal spends the greater part of his 
time in the brush cutting sticks and while he is awaj^ they have 
their big fun. 

The population of our camp has been further increased by the 
arrival of Chinese labor, much to the disgust of the P. G. 's, who form- 
erly "shot" all the cigar and cigarette butts around camp, but the 
Chinks now beat them to it. Supposing a Chinese woman who had 
lived all her life without the aid of a maid or a hair-dresser and had 
done man's work, supposing she should wear her hair like her hus- 
band does his queue and had never lived the life of the almond-eyed 
belles who in the old days had their feet bandaged, now, supposing 
she should make up her mind to accompany her other half when he 
left his native opium patch for foreign shores and to that effect 
donned his other suit of clothes, do you think you could tell her 
from him? You don't think you could, do you? Well, you are in 
no worse plight than is some immigration department of some 
country. In this bunch of natives from the Flowery Kingdom there 
were sixty two of the female of the species and the Medics spotted 
'em at the first inspection after they had slipped by, goodness knows, 
how many immigration officials. 

At our camp we have finally become interested in the war to 
the extent of wondering how long it can last. It does not seem 
possible that such havoc can continue such a great length of time 
and then cease without having accomplished something definite 
toward ending the war. It is difficult for us to realize the terrible 
battle going on not so many miles away. We have become used to 
the roar of big guns right here at our camp, but it only seems to 
add to the feeling that our training is desultory. We have done 
so much of it and are not getting any place. We seem destined for 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 65 

''details" — all work and no excitement. 

There are others over here who evidently feel the same way. 
Here is something by an inspired "doughboy" that is going the 
rounds : 

IN THE SERVICE OF THE REAR. 

When this cruel war is over, 

And the boys go marching home, 

I'm afraid I'll be an outcast. 

And forever have to roam. 

When they show their wounded chevrons, 

And their service stripes of gold, 

And they tell admiring lassies 

Of various deeds and bold, 

I'll be missing from the circle 

And no one there will hear 

How I nearly was a hero 

In the SERVICE OF THE REAR. 

I am an S. O. R. boy, also an S. O. L. 

I never pulled a trigger, or sent a Boche to hell, 

I never saw a dugout, in fact was never near 

For I performed my duty in THE SERVICE OF THE REAR. 

When we passed that glorious statue 

That our liberties uphold. 

We looked forward to the future 

With ardent spirits bold. 

We prated of Democracy 

And the freedom of the seas. 

And how we'd get the kaiser 

And bring him to his knees; 

How we'd face the German legions 

Without a trace of fear — 

But, alas, we had not reckoned 

With the SERVICE OF THE REAR. 

For I am an S. O. R. boy, also an S. O. L., 

I never saw a battle or heard a screaming shell. 

The only Hun I ever saw was a prisonier LaGuerre 

Aworking just like I was in the SERVICE OF THE REAR. 

I've done some provost duty. 
Took a turn in Warehouse "A," 
Hit up the docks at midnight. 
When the front was short of hay. 
I've set up locomotives. 
Then built a mile of track, 
Chopped wood and dug some ditches 



66 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

Just to keep from getting slack, 

But though I've done my duty 

As I saw It true and clear, 

I will never get a medal 

For my SERVICE IN THE REAR. 

L' ENVOI 

For I am an S. O. R. boy, also an S. O. L., 

But I've always done my duty, and I tried to do it well. 

So I hope that at the "Fini" they will grant my wish so dear 

And let me kick the kaiser IN THE SERVICE OF THE REAR. 

About the only phase of the war I could tell you about would be 
the treatment German prisoners receive here. When tales of terror 
come back with the prisoner escaped from the Germans, that coun- 
try's captured soldiers are being too well treated here. It makes a 
person's blood boil to hear of the barbarism of the Hun, and know- 
ing it all to be true, one naturally, for the moment, feels ferocious 
toward the P. G.'s here, but it is only momentarily, and the very 
feeling and passing of it proves our civilization. Very recently we 
have all been reproached for treating the P. G.'s as novelties instead 
of prisoners of war. They had been allowed so many privileges and 
liberties that a sudden check has been placed on their activities and 
our friendliness toward them. They had been living so easy for so 
long they were getting fat and insolent. Elimination of the periods 
and apostrophe and substitution of a single "i" makes P. G.'s just 
what they are. 

We have just been notified that we can no longer expect pack- 
ages from the States unless the article shipped has been formally 
ordered or requested in a written statement approved by an officer 
and the request enclosed with the article shipped. I don't know as 
the ruling of the Postal Department will cause any great hardship 
for the soldiers, and I am sure it will relieve the congested condition 
of first-class mail to the A.E.F. Just the other day our outfit re- 
ceived twenty sacks of mail and not a letter in the bunch. 

Personally I don't know of a thing right now that I want de- 
livered two months hence. I don't want cigarettes because I can 
buy Camels here cheaper than you can over there ; tobacco and cigars 
the same. Four packs of Durham are a Franc (17^2 cents) if one 
wants the "rollings" and I am smoking a Manilla cigar right now 
for which I paid 181,^ Francs for 100, and as I am nearly to the bot- 
tom of the box and still alive thev can't be so bad. I don't want 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 67 

(finely, because I can get chocolate that fills the void for sweet stuff, 
and I am loaded up with safety razor blades for a year. Toilet 
articles, such as the French import to the U. S., can be bought at a 
little town nearby at a price that would make you think I was trad- 
ing at the Woolworth store. Honestly, I can't think of a thing I will 
want two months from now. But wait! There is too something. 
There is something we all want — letters ; lots of them, bushels of 'em 
and there is no order out yet against getting them without a requi- 
sition. 

# * * • 

The following letter was written in Camp Hospital No. 15, Coet- 
quidan : 

France, 6 May, 1918. 
Our principal trouble at present is stiff neck caused by wearing 
the shrapnel helmet. The old campaign hat is a thing of the past. 
It has been turned in and our sole head gear, until the overseas cap 
is issued, is the steel hat and it is some weight. Better than two 
pounds continually worn on the head develops neck muscles, but 
during the period of development there are some stiff necks and 
sore heads. I wear mine only two or three hours a day and figure 
I will be used to it by the time I get out the hospital and back on 
the job. 

Our ward keeps full of patients all the time even tho not from 
casualties sustained in actual fighting. There is always that pro- 
portion of men in the hospital from natural causes. I don't know 
what the proportion is but it is quite large. In the surgical wards, 
besides cases similar to my own, (tonsilitis) there are appendicitis 
eases, but the patients are principally those suffering from acci- 
dents — broken arms or legs, smashed bones. Causes of the acci- 
dents appear to be about equally divided between automobile trucks, 
kicking horses and "esprit de corps." Somebody is continually 
getting in the way of a truck, or learning the ways of a truck, and 
somebody else is continually having trouble teaching the French 
horses to understand American cuss words. All horses are native to 
the soil and don't "parley vos" American, or rather, don't under- 
stand it worth a cent altho they can kick like that American insti- 
tution, the army mule, who is conspicuous at this camp by his absence. 

As to the third cause of accidents, "esprit de corps" is nothing 
more or less than the spirit the doughboy displays when defending 
the infantry as the best branch of the service and is backed by every 



68 THEU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

other doughboy present. The same applies to the backing the yellow 
hat cord man gets when he proclaims to all who care to hear that the 
cavalry is the only branch ; or the red hat cord man and his friends 
present "sticking up" for the artillery; or any other staunch ex- 
ponent of his particular arm. It is the same spirit which prevades 
in any outfit of any branch of service and the individual doing the 
talking is consequently in the best branch, all right, all right. If 
that doesn't bring forth an argument the speaker draws the chal- 
lenge a bit more taunt and asserts that his regiment is the best in 
that particular best branch and is backed by everybody from that 
regiment who happens to be present. That usually attracts some 
attention but the probability is that his regiment is in the majority 
among those present so to get action he specifically mentions his 
company as the best in the regiment, and for immediate action, that 
his platoon or even his squad is the best in the company. He never 
has to go any further. Very often before it gets that far he has 
stepped on somebody's toes and has to prove his contentions. The 
probabilities are that either he or the other fellow will be occupying 
one of the cots in our ward the next morning. 

There are "N.G.," "N.A." and "Regs" here and they have their 
little difficulties ; then there are all the different branches and the 
different outfits of these branches so there is always a chance for 
argument, and nights, after drill hours, down in the village these 
arguments augmented by "vin rouge," frequently developed into 
little free-for-alls that help break the monotony of the soldier's life 
and give the M. P. 's something to do. There is a tension here among 
the men that is very noticeable at times. They have been drilled so 
much and have been awaiting the order that will take them to the 
front so long that it doesn't take much to "start something." If 
they keep us here much longer this outfit will be a bunch of "bat- 
tlers" by the time they get "up there." 



France, 29 May, 1918. 
Since my last letter I have had a chance to make a couple of 
trips away from camp and see something of a couple of French cities 
of importance and interest. By the time you receive this we will 
have made another trip — up to the big show — and will be some- 
where near where all the excitement is going on. We have been pre- 
paring for this debut for a long, long time. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 69 

Spent last Sunday at a French port (St. Nazaire) that has be- 
come so Americanized that it was almost like a trip home to the 
States. Saw big mogul locomotives and heard their screech, in such 
contrast to the subdued toot of the French dinkies; saw monstrous 
cranes overreaching great docks, all built by the U.S.A., and a great 
harbor filled with scores and scores of ships taking turns at the 
docks unloading everything under the sun for the A.E.F., and Allies. 
It is simply wonderful the work done by the United States at this 
port since making it one of our principal terminals, and all in such 
a short time. 

It is a pretty and quaint old city, and away from the hustle and 
bustle of the Americans, that is, away from the docks, where the 
French are allowed to pursue their own sweet will and way un- 
disturbed by the unaccustomed rush, it is fun to take in the sights. 
Everything was wide open Sunday, not a store of any kind closed, 
and by far the greater part of the customers and patrons were Amer- 
icans showing themselves and the French a good time. I have for- 
gotten the little French language I did know. A grin, a few francs 
and motions will get results better than trying to find "it" in the 
dictiouaire, " and what's the use of cramming to learn French when 
the Americans are in the predominance? It's up to the French to 
learn United States, 

Had the luck to find a friend from home Sunday, and we cer- 
tainly had some reunion. It was just accidental that I discovered 
his regiment (17th Engineers) to be stationed at this French port 
and I started out in a Ford to find him. This Ford was certainly 
here since before the war and I am sure it had seen "service." It 
was sans cushions, sans seats, sans everything but the hood and 
something under it that made it shake, rattle and roll along. The 
driver was a Frenchman, an Apache I thought later, and how he 
came to have a machine in his possession is more than I know, as 
every car in France is in the hands of the military authorities and 
civilians find it difficult to even purchase gasoline, but I can easily 
understand how he could afford to own a Ford. I had the outfit 
exactly an hour and ten minutes and the tariff was 35 francs, or, to 
put it into United States, he soaked me $6,121/2 for the trip. We 
traveled six kilometers to the Engineer camp, but my friend's com- 
pany had moved so we came back to the city and out to another 
camp a short distance, and my friend had gone to town. Returning 



70 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

to the city we ran plump into him, and almost over him, amidst 
great rejoicing. He has been over here since last August in this 
same town almost continually and is tired to death of being in one 
place all the time, and in the "S. 0. R." He knew the town from 
one end to the other and we didn't miss much. Left there that even- 
ing and was home in seven hours. 

Another trip I had recently was to a city much larger than this 
seaport and I made it in an automobile, a regular one, on a beauti- 
ful, pleasant day over the finest roads I had ever seen. I had 
worked on the regimental payrolls for a week and it was a fierce 
job. As a reward for my faithful labors I was taken along by the 
paymaster as armed guard when he made the trip to this branch 
of the Bank of France after the money. This larger city (Rennes), 
is strictly French in every respect and there were scarcely any 
American soldiers in town, altho a few do occasionally get a chance 
to visit there week-ends. Hospitals are filled with wounded Freneli 
and Belgian soldiers and each arriving train brings more. It is 
pitiful to watch the incoming trains unload. All around town are 
convalescing soldiers, many with artificial limbs, but others are 
there on furloughs and enjoying themselves. There were a great 
many Belgians in evidence; these poor fellows, when furlough time 
comes, have no home to go to so they spend their leave away from 
the front visiting the French. 

We brought back to camp nearly a half-million francs and it 
was a load to carry from the bank to the automobile. The denom- 
inations were 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 franc notes and 2, 1 and 50 cen- 
time silver pieces. It is difficult to learn that French money, es- 
pecially the paper, is worth anything. I told the paymaster I 
wouldn't give him three twenty-dollar U. S. bills for his whole load 
and he answered that at first it was hard for him to be careful with 
the stuff when paying it out, but that after a few shortages he found 
it had a value. The fives and tens, and even the twenties, seem trifl- 
ing in their cheap looking paper, especially when they become 
wrinkled, but the fifties and hundreds are flashingly colored ''docu- 
ments. ' ' 

Tomorrow is Memorial Day and all camp duties have been sus- 
pended. There is a cemetery here with graves of American sol- 
diers and in the morning each company in camp will send a detail 
to pick flowers to place on the graves. 



CHAPTER VI. 

A Trip Across France — Itinerary — "Many Dust'* — 
Alsace — Billeted in Roppe — With the Cows 
Pigs and Chickens — Ammunition Hauls — 
Night Work — Anti- Aircraft Bombardments — 
July 4, 1918 — Baseball — Sunday in Alsace — 
The Flu — No Cooties But Plenty of Fleas. 

APTER more than three months of drilling and details at 
Camp Coetquidan the orders that gave us our motor equip- 
ment and sent us to the front were received. Instruction in 
operating trucks had been given the men on trips to St. Nazaire 
with Quartermaster trucks which went in after supplies for the 
camp. There were also a few trucks about the camp which had been 
available for the Motor Battalion so that the men were qualified to 
drive the machines when finally obtained. 

On May 31 Major Imhoff with Captains Hill and Dayton went 
to St. Nazaire, and Captain Wismer with Lieut. Russell went to 
Nantes, after the equipment for the battalion. Half the men of 
the battalion accompanied the officers. The day previous Captain 
Jensen with a large number of men left for LaHarve after trucks 
but returned empty handed as there had been a confliction in orders. 

Returning from St. Nazaire and Nantes the details brought 108 
Nash Quad trucks, 6 Dodge passenger cars, 3 Dodge light delivery 
trucks, 3 Indian motorcycles with sidecars and 1 artillery repair 
truck, with sufficient gasoline to take the entire train across France. 
Each of the companies in the Motor Battalion were assigned 26 
.'rucks and an automobile. Train and Motor headquarters got the 
remainder of the motor vehicles. 

The morning of June 7 the Motor Battalion left Camp Coet- 
quidan, the train being divided into four sections, a company to a 
section, Company A leaving at 7 o'clock, followed by the other com- 
panies at intervals of a half-hour. Train headquarters accompanied 



72 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

the battalion. Lieutenant Coe, of battalion headquarters, preceded 
the train one day arranging for guides to pilot the sections thru the 
larger cities and selecting the parking place for each night's des- 
tination. 

The first day we passed thru Rennes and Vitre and camped for 
the night alongside the roadway near LaGravelle, having made 58 
miles without mishap, crossing the department of Ille et Vilaine. 
The day following we crossed the department of Mayenne, thru the 
city of Laval, to LeMans, in Sarthe, another run of 58 miles. We 
reached LeMans about 2 o'clock in the afternoon and our particular 
section made camp in a freshly cut field of hay just on the outskirts 
of the city. We remained in this delightful camp over Sunday, hav- 
ing the opportunity to visit the large city and thoroly enjo^ang our- 
selves while the motor equipment was gone over, oiled and gassed. 

Breaking camp after a 5:30 o'clock breakfast Monday morning 
we again travelled 58 miles in a day, spending the night near Binas 
on the road to Orleans, having passed out of the department of 
Sarthe and nearly across Loir-et-Cher. At Moree we crossed the 
Loire river. The next morning quite early we passed thru the city 
of Orleans and for hours travelled along the banks of the Loire and 
thru Chateauneuf-sur-jLoire to Gien (Loiret) where we camped. 
That day's run was 60 miles. 

June 12 we made the longest run of any day on the trip making 
Chablis for the night, a distance of 78 miles. For hours that day we 
traveled along roads where the hillsides were covered with grape 
vines. During the day we passed thru Briare, Bleneau and Auxerre. 
Our night's destination was in the department of Yonne. The next 
day we made 68 miles across Cote D'Or to Auberive in Haute Marne. 
We crossed the Seine that day at Chatillon-sur-Seine. At Auberive 
we were but a half-dozen kilometers from Prauthoy, formerly div- 
ision headquarters. 

Early on the morning of the 14th we passed thru Langres, then 
thru Fays Billet, Cambeaufontaine to Vesoul, a distance of 69 miles 
for the day, to a very nice camping ground with the "chapelle" on 
the hilltop looking down upon us. We reached our destination on 
the Alsace front the next afternoon and our home for six weeks was 
in the village of Roppe, four kilometers east of Belfort. We had 
travelled 504 miles on our trip across France. 

Preparing for the trip across France by rail the Horsed Bat- 
talion remained at Camp Coetquidan until June 10. There was 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 73 

equipment to be drawn, wagons and caissons to be assembled, for- 
age to be obtained and many other details to be arranged. The 
Battalion had a considerable number of horses but an officer and 
35 men was to be left behind to bring the balance of the horses due. 
On June 7 Lieut. Cairy went ahead to arrange for the billeting. A 
couple of days later some of the men from the Medical and Veter- 
inary detachments and 40 men from Company E preceded the bat- 
talion to prepare the camp in Alsace. 

At noon on June 12 the Battalion, consisting of 6 officers and 
467 men, marched to Guer and about 5 o'clock that afternoon en- 
trained. At 9 o'clock that night the train was in Rennes and 4 
o'clock the next morning passed thru LeMans. Tours was made at 
noon and Bourges at 8 o'clock at night. At 8 o'clock the evening 
of July 12 the Battalion detrained at Belfort and marched to 
Roppe where it was billeted by Lieut. Cairy. The only accident 
on the trip happened the first day when Sergt. John Majerowski 
Avas knocked from the train while passing thru the tunnel near Le 
Creusat. 

Immediately the Ammunition Train was settled at Roppe de- 
tails from the companies were sent to the ammunition dumps scat- 
tered thru the area and the outfit got its first experience in hauling 
ammunition to the batteries and the infantry. Some days the hauls 
were light but at other times the entire Train was busy. Life in the 
Alsace sector was not particularly hazardous but this fact was not 
fully realized until after we had seen real fronts. Occasionally 
there would be bombardments by the artillery and raids by the in- 
fantry but we learned it was merely for training purposes. Our 
division, which holds the distinction of being the first American 
outfit on German soil because of its occupancy of that part of Al- 
sace, was under command of the French and there seemed to be a 
tactical understanding between the French and the Germans that 
if the French left Mulhouse alone, why the Germans would not mo- 
lest Belfort. At any rate, while we were there we saw but little of 
war, but enough so that when we reached the real fronts we had 
a rudimentary acquaintance with modern warfare. 

Shortly after we reached Alsace Lieut. Veling of Company B 

was transferred to the Base Censor's office in Paris. 

« * * « 

Prance, 21, June. 
Have had a long and wonderful trip across France and we are 



74 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

now at the Front, altho in a quiet sector. Still, it isn't what a novice 
would consider quiet either. The big guns are at it almost inces- 
santly and it is the unusual thing not to have a Boche plane or two 
up above somewhere with a flock of French machines in chase. 
French troops are continually passing thru our village, either com- 
ing from or going in to the trenches and the scores of villages around 
us are inhabited by American soldiers. The weather since our ar- 
rival has been wretched. 

In all my dreams of traveling thru strange, old countries, vis- 
iting spots and places somewhat familiar and longed for since the 
old "geography days," I never, quite dreamed such a trip as we 
just completed. For more than a week we visited one wonderful 
old town after another across France, traveling in our motor train 
over the most wonderful roads in the world, where for miles and 
miles and miles great trees, planted as uniformly as along a boule- 
vard hundreds of years ago, formed a canopy thru which we rode 
protected from the heat of the sun. The weather was perfect every 
day but one. Nights we halted near some large city, pitched our 
pup tents and camped for the night. Travel rations Avere very good 
and besides when night came we usually had the privilege of visit- 
ing town and buying our supper if we chose. 

Our line of travel was principally over the National Highway 
of France, which has markers every kilometer and sign posts, which 
really tell something, every few kilometers or wherever a junction 
of roads demand it. The Touring Club of France has made their 
system of road direction perfect. The only chance to make a mis- 
take is in going thru cities — to strike the right road when leaving 
the town and our section made that mistake, altho it was not our 
fault. Our train traveled in sections. In going thru a town the 
section preceding ours got a "bum steer" from the M. P. who was 
supposed to direct them and traveled about 20 kilometers toward 
the Mediterranean sea before some old French woman yelled from 
the roadside to inquire if the Americans were retreating. Our pilot 
failed to show up entirely when we came thru an hour later and 
in a train of trucks there is no chance to stop and inquire the way 
when one can't even understand the language — it takes too long to 
make signs — so we just followed the tracks on the early morning 
pavement and wound up finally about five hours behind the rest of 
our train. It is quite a job for a couple score quads turning around 
on a twelve-foot roadway. We had to return thru the city to get 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 75 

back on the right road and the light delivery truck in which I was 
riding got a puncture right in the heart of town, so the rest of the 
section went on and left us, but that wasn't what one would call 
hard luck either, because, happening to glance up at the building in 
front of which we were stalled we discovered that our lone punc- 
ture in crossing France had happened directly before the old home 
of Joan of Arc. There was a commemorative plate on the building 
and a Frenchman who could talk English translated it. The city 
was Orleans and Joan of Arc had lived in this house in 1429. It 
is know as "the house with panelled walls." During our trip we 
traveled for nearly a day thru the forest in which Joan of Arc as- 
sembled her armies. 

Orleans is a city of about 75,000 population now and has in- 
numerable buildings that date back to the 10th, 11th 12th, 13th, 
14th and 15th centuries. "LeMail, " a long and pretty walk, sur- 
rounds the town Avith its pleasant verdure and following this one 
you can see nearly all the old places — Grosiot Hall (1530) ; Statue 
of Joan of Arc, sculptured by Princess Mary of Orleans; Cathedral 
Square ; Basilica of the Holy Cross, founded in the Fourth century, 
rebuilt in the Thirteenth century and with towers 85 meters high by 
the Architect Gabriel. These towers were built when the cathedral 
was restored by Henry IV. The old town simply abounds with his- 
toric names and places. One old church with a quaint tower, built 
in the Eleventh century, still stands. 

The third night of our trip we won't forget for a long time. It 
rained. A pup tent is a wonderful place in which to sleep on a 
bright, warm night, when camped in a hay field, but when it is 
raining when the tent is pitched and the blankets and everything 
else get wet, and it rains and rains and puts out the fire under the 
cook's stove and you crawl into your wet blankets without supper 
and it continues to pour, then it isn't very pleasant, especially, when 
about the time you begin to doze off you discover you pitched your 
tent in a village of ants, and the balance of the night is spent 
scratching as far as you can reach, and cussing the kaiser, oc- 
casionally praying for morning to come with a bright, hot sun. 

But that was only one night ; the rest of the trip, until our ar- 
rival here, the weather couldn't have been nicer. In fact, an oc- 
casional rain would have made traveling a bit more pleasant owing 
to the roads being so dry and dusty. When more than one hundred 
trucks string out over such roads dust rises in clouds, making it ex- 



76 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

ceedingly impleasant for anyone who must "take" it, as one French- 
man implied in acknowledging Colonel McCully's salutation. 

The Frenchman was gasping for breath and covered Avith a coat- 
ing of grey dust from the train when the Colonel's car stopped near 
him. 

"Many dust," the Frenchman pleasantly remarked in reply to 
the Colonel's hand wave of recognition. 

The last day of our journey was up hill the entire distance and 
we are now located where rain is made. It rains every day and it is 
cold. Would dislike spending the winter here. There is a snow- 
plow in every back yard. Most of our companies are quartered in 
barracks which are fairly good, each makeshift bed having a straw- 
mat for a tick with roofs on the buildings that do not leak overmuch, 
but our headquarters outfit and detachments are billeted, and being 
billeted almost invariably means living with the pigs and cows and 
chickens, and that is the life. 

Our headquarter 's office and billets are in a barn. The office is 
on the ground floor, with sleeping quarters in the loft on both sides. 
Each loft would hold about a ton of loose hay but wouldn't keep it 
dry. The cows are no longer in the building but their memory re- 
mains, some of it piled in neat heaps forming an approach to our 
doorway, and our backyard is a vast store of fertilizer. I lived in the 
barn for five days and nights but it was almost too much — working 
there days and sleeping there nights — so now I have a regular home. 
Have a regular bed in a French home and altho it is in the attic 
the bed is the best I have slept in since I left home. It is one of those 
high affairs topped off with a feather bed for a cover, which the 
old grandmother simply insists must go on top. If I leave it off 
after I get to bed I am very careful to put it back on top before I 
leave in the morning. Her husband is the village school master, 
and I can't imagine how a person can live to such a great age in 
this climate. I thought he was much older than she until I found 
out she hadn't a tooth in her mouth. I found that out when I offered 
her a box of hard tack. That was one time I was glad I couldn't 
understand French. I think T must have insulted her and I think 
she called me names. 

Since I started this letter I have made a few trips in the 
vicinity and have been for miles on German soil, in towns where 
the signs are in German and where the sentiment is the same. I 
have seen camouflaging that actually disguises and hides ; great guns 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 77 

and emplacements covered over by a lattice work of irregular greeu 
and brown and yellow stripes that deceive from a very short dis- 
tance. Everything around here is camouflaged — roadways, hills, 
valleys, even the trees in some places. 

This morning up over our village and to the eastward we had 
as fine and spectacular exhibition of the work of anti-aircraft guns 
as it is possible to see. The sky was perfect for a clear view as white 
clouds at a great height dimmed the brightness of the sun until we 
could look directly at it. Planes were quite numerous early this 
morning as it was bright and quiet, but they were all French ma- 
chines so our interest dulled and we quit watching until about lialf- 
after-nine a Boche machine was seen high above us, our attention 
being called to the speck in the sky by the booming of guns. For 
more than an hour we watched that Boche and the puffs of smoke 
bursting around him. The plane and smoke of bursting shells were 
black against the white background and we could distinctly see 
every explosion. Hundreds of shots were fired and we could see 
the result of every one by the smoke puff; some were wide, some 
high, some low, and a few seemed to envelop the machine but it 
kept at its dizzy heighth and finally speeded back to its lines with 
shells bursting in its wake as far as the guns could carry. A few 
minutes later it came back into the barrage again, or almost into it, 
and this time four French machines, which had been up above the 
clouds, dropped down into view but the Boche got away. It was a 
wonderful sight. The plane looked the size of an eagle and the 
smoke of the bursting shells hung in the air, ball shape, for fully a 
minute before breaking up, and there were fifty or more of these 
smoke balls in the air all the time. We have similar exhibitions 
frequently. We sit outside at our tables eating dinner and watch 
just such a display. The Hun doesn't always get away by any 
means. 

Just a couple of days ago we watched what proved to be a very 
clever stunt. Two French machines started out over the German 
lines along late in the afternoon and four Boches arose to give bat- 
tle. The French turned tail and beat it back for home pursued by 
the four, when suddenly a flock of French planes, and there must 
have been two dozen of them, swooped down out of the clouds. The 
Germans banked and rose at the same time and a chase began. We 
saw one machine fall. These are wonderful days over here. 



78 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

France, 7 July. 
The Glorious Fourth over here was celebrated just as you would 
expect. The French made a great fuss over the Americans and in 
many places France's Independence Day, which falls on July 14, was 
celebrated at the same time. In a city just north of us (Masseveux), 
and in another a short distance to the south ( Grand villers), the day 
was a great occasion, French, Italian, Japanese and I don't know 
how manj^ of our Allies joined in the festivities and the half dozen 
or so American soldiers on M. P. duty in each place must have had 
a big time. I passed thru one of the cities late that evening and some 
of the Allies looked as tho they had fought the battle of "vin 
rouge" and lost out. The six M. P.'s in the town had an envious 
day. In Paris, London and the larger cities the celebration was the 
real thing, so the papers claim, but for the life of me I can't under- 
stand why London was celebrating. 

At our Division headquarters there was quite a time with 
speeches, bands and baseball. In our village we were exceedingly 
"sane," a 3 to 4 ball game being considerable excitement while it 
lasted but at the end of the fifth inning an order for ammunition 
busted up the game and the rest of the day was spent in hauling 
"fireworks" for the evening display, I went along with one of the 
trains and I want to say that as a whole the day was somewhat diff- 
erent than July 4, 1917. 

Our daylight jobs are a pleasure in this country of wonderful 
scenery but the night hauls, without lights, with an overcast sky 
and no moon, traveling a spiral course up mountains where the white 
roadway bed is completely obliterated by the blackness of the ov- 
erhanging trees, are far from being the kind of trips to be enjoyed. 
When the trucks creep along up the grades "feeling" their way 
around shell holes that would hold a load of hay and sometimes 
dropping off into one, holding up the whole train and causing an 
hour's delay before being righted; and everyone talks in hoarse 
whispers while the trucks are making enough noise to awaken the 
dead ; and when the putter of machine guns and waves of rapid 
rifle-fire, interspersed with occasional earthquake salvos from the 
artillery, are the other noises of the night ; and the only light is 
the reflection from the flares sent up at intervals over "No man's 
land" in the valley down below, it is then that one wonders what 
it must be at a "live" front if this is a quiet sector. The artillery- 
men left up on the mountains sleeping as best they can around their 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 79 

battery position without even a dugout for protection from cold, 
shells or gas are probably also puzzled. 

We are very comfortably situated here now that the weather 
is nice. Our headquarter 's outfit has its own mess now and while 
there are less than twenty of us we augment the government allow- 
ance with ten francs a month and get along fine. 

No reveille or retreat but breakfast at 7 o'clock. Am cross- 
ing my fingers and knocking wood while writing this because 1 
know it can't last. There is very little work, in fact I have a sleepy 
job and get a chance for a little bunk fatigue every afternoon. I 
don't suppose the daily life at a real front is much like that. And 
then the nights in my big French bed ! 

Today was Sundaj^ and we had a ball game. Our dinky head- 
quarters' outfit played the Ordnance and got beat 3 to 0. I played 
second and didn't particularly distinguish mj^self or get a D.S.C. or 
"Cross de Guerre," but if I feel in the morning the way I think I 
am going to judging from the way my joints and muscles are be- 
ginning to stiffen up, I am going to apply for a wound chevron, for, 
besides the pain I am sure I must endure tomorrow, my pride was 
wounded today. I had elucidated quite extensively on the subject 
of baseball and told of the old days when I was in my "prime" and 
of the class of ball we used to put up in my home town, and just 
because I didn't get a three-base hit every time up, why, these chest}' 
ammunition wrestlers were none too flattering in their sideline 
repartee ; but at that I think I will retire from baseball once more. 

If I don't get the wound chevron I will have the consolation of 
a service stripe pretty soon anyhow. The first day of August we 
will have put in six months over here and will get a gold chevron 
for that. Our outfit embarked at New York on February 1, and the 
date of embarkation marks the beginning of foreign service. I 
notice by the figures on troops sent abroad, just published here and 
accredited to Secretary Baker, that we were among the first quarter 
of a million. It is surprising the way troops are pouring in over here. 

This afternoon we got two sacks of mail that nearly caused a 
panic when the news of its arrival spread around the village, the 
rush to the postoffice was so great, but when the sacks were opened 
the tone of the assembled multitude changed somewhat. It was 
second-class papers, so old that the Russians were still fighting, and 
misdirected first-class, wishing us Merry Christmas and Happy New 
Year and hoping "you got that package." About once or twice 



80 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

every so often a bulletin is issued by G.H.Q. or some other head- 
quarters calling attention to the amount of wrongly addressed mail 
and instructing us to notify our correspondents of our correct ad- 
dress, giving full name, rank, company, regiment and American 
E.F., and also the A.P.O. number. The use of the latter is not ad- 
visable unless a soldier is permanently located in the S.O.S., or some 
other branch where he has a chance to remain long enough to get 
a letter to the States and an answer. 

Our new A.P.O. number is 734. We moved from 711 to 734 and 
both numbers are composed of the lucky 7 or 11 combinations, but 
we don 't always travel on lucky numbers — list ' to my tale : We 
left Camp Mac Arthur, Texas, January 13, arriving at Camp Merritt 
in the early hours of the 18th, which was Friday; embarked for 
foreign service Feb. 1, which was Friday; there were thirteen ships 
in our convoy when we left Halifax with thirteen different or- 
ganizations aboard. We entered the danger zone off the coast of 
England on the 15th, which was Friday. From Liverpool we went 
to the southern part of England, crossed the Channel one night in 
a regular aurora borealis of searchlights and convoyed by des- 
troyers, and our service records show that we landed in France on 
Washington's Birthday, which, without an effort fell on the 22nd, 
and as per usual with us, the 22nd fell on a Friday. This Friday 
stuff still pursues us, as you can readily see by glancing at the cal- 
endar, because we left our training camp in Western France on 
June 7, a Friday. We need a few lucky A.P.O. numbers to offset 
this Friday-Thirteen alliance. 

We have fared so far, much better than we ever expected or 
hoped. Of course we all pray for the war to end. We want to go 
home. Sometimes it seems we have been over here for years and 
again it doesn't seem any time at all. There are days when we think 
we will die here of old age, but about that time some cheerful 
"ninny" remarks that the first ten years in the army are the worst. 
This job over here would be a whole lot nicer if we could go home 
Saturday nights. Everybody now and then predicts when the war 
will end, it is anybody's privilege. My guess made several months 
ago, was September 14. I want to change that now to September 13 

— I just noticed it falls on Friday. 

« « * * 

France, 14 July. 
Just found out today thru a clipping from a home paper that it 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 81 

has been known in the States since June 18, that we are in Alsace. 
vSince our arrival here Ave have been very careful in keeping secret 
our whereabouts, our letters have been strictly censored to that end 
and all this time we have been fooling only ourselves. It was stated 
in the clipping that the Germans were aware of our presence here 
from the first and I am not greatly surprised. It must necessarily 
follow that a country dominated by a people for nearly fifty years 
can scarcely help but have some inhabitants loyal to, or at least 
influenced by, that people. Besides when Germany found she could 
not make the Alsatian a German she did her best to drive him from 
the land and populate it with her own docile vassals. As a result 
we are in a country infested by friends of the enemy. I do not know 
anything about their method of communication but it ought not 
to be a very difficult undertaking v/hen Boche planes are circling 
above us at all hours. Nearly every family around here speaks 
German and quite a number cannot speak French. The old Alsatian, 
however, is as loyal to France as in 1870 and so are his succeeding 
generations even tho thru all these years they have been prohibited 
by the fiercest laws from even speaking their own language. 

Our village is on French soil in the foothills of the Vosges 
mountains under the protection of the fortress of Belfort and when 
the day is clear and climatic conditions are just right we can sec 
the Swiss Alps. One evening after a rainy day, when the sun came 
out brightly for a few minutes just before setting, I happened to be 
at the summit of a great elevation a few kilometers from here and 
from there I could see, rising dimly against the Southern sky, what 
I was told was Mount Blanc. Across to the East was the German 
city and fortress of Mulhouse in plain view, altho, I was told, the 
distance is fully thirty kilometers. Down in the valley somewhere 
along in that thirty kilometers runs the trenches that form the 
boundary line of today. Mulhouse is said to be as strongly fortified 
as Belfort, which could have been the price of peace for France. 
The concession of Belfort to Germany when the demand was made 
in August 1914, might have prevented the World war. Belfort is so 
strongly defended it does not seem possible of capture by an enemy. 
The approach from Bocheland for miles and miles is one fortified 
elevation after another and miles and miles of barbed wire en- 
tanglement. 

Today, July 14, is Independence Day for France, and has been 
declared a holiday for American troops not actually in the battle 



82 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

front. Our village is as quiet as the proverbial New England village 
Have not heard a gun since early morning and there has not been 
the usual bombardment of enemy planes. However, no matter how 
quiet it may be thruout the day there is always the morning and 
evening "hate" — the morning and evening exchange of "courtesies" 
by the artillery. 

Today is also the Sabbath and it is difficult to recognize the 
people of the village in their Sunday clothes, the change is so strik- 
ing from their week day apparel. The few old men are in their best 
which is so shiny and the style is of days gone by. But the female 
population does doll up. It seems that every one of them, young and 
old, have each a silk dress, and it has style to it too. They really do 
look nice when dressed up but the poor things do not have a great 
deal of time to show off their clothes. The natives here are up two 
hours before reveille. They are up at daylight and in the fields 
until dark, which comes on about 9 o'clock, and often even later we 
can hear a hay-laden, oxen-drawn wagon creaking along the road, 
and more than likely that load will be pitched into the mow before 
there is any sleep in that household that night. Their first meal of 
the day comes after seven hours of hard work and their only other 
meal of the day is after dark. Civilian France is supposed to have 
two meals a day — the first about 11 o'clock in the morning and the 
second usually after they come home from the fields at night. Their 
food is none too plentiful, either, and their bread ration is just a 
little short of what they would like. Every child in the village has 
some work. Little girls, seven and eight years old, do the family 
washing and boys of the same age drive oxen. The mademoiselles 
of the household have worked so hard they appear twice their age, 
stoop-shouldered, tired and wan, with hands hardened and coarse, 
resembling those of a laboring man. But Sunday morning on their 
way to church in their silk dresses they do look nice, and the dirty 
"enfants" who pester the "Americaines" for six days on the seventh 

are the obedient, angelic "gareons" and "filles." 

* * * * 

Have just wasted a whole week. Had the Spanish "flu" and if 
that isn't a waste of time I don't know what is. About everybody in 
this sector has had this influenza. It has the grippe beaten a kilo- 
meter. The epidemic is all over Europe at present, it seems, and 
plays no favorites — Tommy and Poilu, Amex and Italian, Dukes and 
Duchess, Kings and Queens, Jacks and Deuces — all get it. They 



THRU TPIE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 83 

started calling it the "three-day" fever here but eouldu't camou- 
flage it with a name when it runs its course in a week or more. It 
hits suddenly and one's temperature nearly chases the mercury out 
thru the top of the M. D.'s thermometer, face gets red, every bone in 
the body aches and the head splits wide open. This continues for 
three or four days and then disappears after considerable perspir- 
ation, but the "hangover" clings for a week or two. If it happens 
to strike over there this is the treatment, prescribed by the best 
civilian and army medics over here : A cachet of 30 centigrammes of 
pyramidon, and ten minutes later a cachet of 60 centigrammes of bi- 
ehlorhydrate of quinine. Within a half-hour, or possibly an hour, 
the patient perspires profusely, especially if at the same time as the 
cachets' hot aromatic infusions are given, and when the perspiration 
has finished temperature drops and patient enters into convalescence. 
The best war news I heard this week was that the kaiser had 
the ■ flu." I hope his bones ache so that it penetrates to the marrow 
and circulates until it is only halted by the solid bone that uneasily 
rests beneath his crown. Then I hope he burns up and withers with 
the fever. We have other afflictions that I would also like to com- 
municate to him. While so far, thank goodness, I have kept free 
from "cooties," there are other insects over here that do not con- 
fine themselves to crawling on their own stomachs. There are fleas 
that can jump from a Frenchman six feet away, turn a triple som- 
ersault in the air, and land in the space between the neck and coat 
collar. They raise a welt as large as a French penny and it lasts and 
itches two weeks, and you know that "big fleas have little fleas to 
bite 'em and so on 'ad infinitum." Then we have cute little chicken 
lice from the vacated coop adjoining our office on the left. Since they 
are without their chickens we answer the purpose. Flies thrive on 
manure. Those four words suffice for the fly subject in France. 
There are more varieties of flies here than you ever dreamed of and 
manure is the flavor of rural France. There is one specie of fly 
about an inch and a quarter in length who carries his stingaree in a 
regular scabbard aft and whose bite is so poisonous that the sting 
of six of them will kill a horse, according to the madam next door. 
Adjoining as on the right is the cowstable, and if cow ticks attack 
humans then I got 'em. I don't know what pet pests pigs, geese 
and goats have, but I think I get 'em too. If I can't get any sand 
paper from the supply sergeant I will enclose an order for some in 
my next letter. Send me No. 4 if it runs that coarse. 



CHAPTER VII. 

To the Chateau Thierry Sector — On a Real Front 
and Real Battles — Wonderful Work of Our 
Division — Burying Details — Hun On the Run 
— Americans Fight Different — Dangerous Sou- 
venir Hunting — ^Gossoncourt Woods — Shelled 
and Bombed — Resting On Laurels — Quentin 
Roosevelt's Grave — ^The Coast Artillery. 

FOR WEEKS we knew the Alsace sector was but a training area. 
We knew that real war was being waged miles away and that 
before long we would be in it. Life in Alsace was becoming 
monotonous. We were ready to move. The Horsed Battalion had 
changed headquarters to Vauthiermont about July 1. More horses 
were drawn and also more caissons and chariot de pare wagons. Ev- 
ery few days additions were made to the equipment. On July 9 
John Orwacke, Company E, was drowned in the stream near Fous- 
semagne. There continued to be plenty of work for the Train. 
There was considerable work at the ammunition dumps and night 
hauls were frequent. The artillery was getting a great deal of prac- 
tice and were acquiring a reputation for accuracy of fire. Changes 
in tables of organization had increased the strength of companies of 
the Motor Battalion to 146 men and quite a number of replacements 
were being received. 

The Motor Battalion left Alsace July 23 in a divisional motor 
train bound for some place on the big front. The first day's travel 
was 76 miles to Fay's Billet where camp was made in a heavy rain. 
We had traveled back along our old trail thru Lure and Vesoul. 
The next morning we passed thru Langres and a little later thru 
Chaumont, general headquarters of the American Expeditionary 
Forces. Two of the companies spent the night in camp at Brienne 
le Chateau and the other companies camped near Bar-sur-Aube. 
The distance covered that day was 78 miles. Coulommiers was our 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 85 

rext night's destiuatiou after passing thru Sezanne and Esternay 
and when we made camp that afternoon near an English aviation 
field we were but 20 miles from Chateau Thierry, We made 81 miles 
that day. Before 8 o'clock the next morning we were in Meaux and 
still we had no idea where we were going. As our route continued 
northwest we believed we were going up with the British and when 
we reached Senlis that afternoon we were sure we would meet the 
English once more. 

That night we billeted in the village of Verneuil, about 
three kilometers south of Pont Ste Maxence. It had been a short 
run that day, but 50 miles, and Verneuil looked like a permanent 
home. The Horse Battalion reached Verneuil about the same time 
as we. Companies E and F entrained at Mowaller and Company G 
at Montreau Juene July 24, had passed thru the outskirts of Paris 
and detrained at Pont Ste Maxence a little after 4 o'clock the after- 
noon of July 26, With the entire Ammunition Train in Verneuil 
we were almost positive we would kick in someplace north of Sois- 
sons with the British. 

Orders from Divisional Headquarters reached us early the next 
morning to the effect that we proceed at once to the region of Cha- 
teau Thierry Trucks were cranked up and while the Horse Bat- 
talion joined the Divisional train on the march the Motor Battalion 
got under way. Thru Pont Ste Maxence to Villers Cotterets, where 
a few days before the Germans held sway, we traveled, then south 
thru La Ferte Milon and sometime after midnight we camped in the 
woods southwest of Chateau Thierry. The Horsed Battalion had 
reached Flurines and then thru Nery to Antheulil at midnight, a 
distance of 43 kilometers for the day. The march the next day was 
acress the River Ourcq, thru Montigny, thru the city of Chateau 
Thierry to Mont St. Pere overlooking the River Marne. 

On the night of July 29-30 the Thirty-Second Division relieved 
the Third Division north of LeCharmel and the 107th Ammunition 
Train was given real work to do. On July 28 Company B had 
moved to Charteves and parked on the highway just north of the 
toMai from where it hauled. Company C, the same day, had moved 
to Le Charmel, where it parked on the lower road between Jaul- 
gonne and Le Charmel, and began hauling small arms ammunition 
for the infantry. Train and Motor Headquarters, Companies A and 
D, moved to Azy on the Marne and remained there until August 1 
when headquarters was established at Mont St. Pere and camp made 



86 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

in a ravine in an old German ammunition dump surrounded by 
thousands of shell, principally gas. July 31 the Horsed Battalion 
moved to LeCharmel and August 3 to Reddy Farm in the vicinity of 
Cierges. Besides hauling considerable ammunition the Horsed Bat- 
talion had a detail of eighty men engaged in burying the American 
and German dead. From the 3rd to the 8th this detail continued its 
work and buried nearly as many Americans as Germans. The dead 
were numerous. On the 8th Company G, which had been at Drav- 
egny a few days, moved back to Coulonges-en-Tardenois. Company 
C was at Coulonges under orders of the divisional munitions officer. 
Train and Motor Headquarters, with Companies A and D moved to 
Courmont Augiist 11 and to Gossoncourt Woods the 14th. Company 
B joined the battalion here as did Company C. The entire battalion 
for about a week previous to moving was engaged in collecting 

enemy ammunition which had been left behind in great quantities. 

* * « * 

France, 3 August. 

Have been trying to write a letter for more than a week and 
now that I am at it I don't know where to start. The experiences 
of the last ten days or two weeks have been such it has been im- 
possible to calmly contemplate any such commonplace thing as a 
letter. Today is the 3rd of August — I know that from the date on 
my daily reports, and I also know that tomorrow is my birthday — but 
for the life of me I couldn't tell the day of the week. I don't know 
whether it is Tuesday or Sunday. So much has been crowded into 
the time since we left peaceful Alsace that it seems but a memory 
of long ago. 

Not knowing where to start I will begin with today. It is the 
freshest in my mind and glorious to remember. 

Not more than two hours ago I returned from the scene of 
yesterday's, last night's and today's most wonderful victory of 
American troops on the World's most famous battle front. It was 
not the scene of victories of the Marines, or the Regulars, or New 
England men, but the battle-ground where our own Wisconsin 
and Michigan troops made the most brilliant charge against the 
terrific, murderous inachine-gun fire of the best of the Huns, driving 
them back leaving every machine-gun pit with its dead Hun or 
Huns; on and on thru woods, up an open hill without a vestige of 
shelter, over the top and down a slope, in and thru another woods 
and on until the invaders must stop to breathe and rest. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 87 

It is almost unbelievable. To view the country, see the enemy's 
positions and note the lack of shelter for the attacking infantry, and 
knowing that the opposing troops were the best the Germans have, 
it seems hardly possible that our men could succeed. But it is his- 
tory now. This is a fact — right from our Division Headquarters : 
French cavalry this afternoon were out two miles in advance of the 
Infantry and there was not a single Boche in sight. The enemy are 
retreating so fast we cannot keep up with them. 

Understand, our Division holds but a short sector of the whole 
front — less than two-kilometers, in fact, and our support consists of 
another Division with a third Division in reserve. Just think, all 
these men holding less than two kilometers of front! The exploits 
of our Division in the present drive are no more wonderful, I suppose, 
than those of the other Divisions holding this front, but I am certain 
none are more brilliant. Of course, our losses are heavj'^ and many 
are mourning back home; just as the French and English have 
mourned these last four years, and there is scarcely a family over 
here that has escaped, but life over here cannot be considered any 
longer. It can't be. If we were fighting men with minds that God 
gave them it would be different, but these men are maniacs; they are 
savages, and they dare not be anything else. God created them but 
the Kaiser made their minds. Those who would be different are 
made to do as the Kaiser wills. 

There is so much to tell I cannot attempt a tenth part of it but 
I want to try and describe one slope up which our Infantry charged. 
There were probably sixty acres in the field from the fringe of 
woods at the foot of the slope to the crest of the hill and the distance 
from foot to crest was about three hundred yards. Enemy machine- 
gun pits in that field were placed like this : 







They were just as thick as these look and placed as systematical- 
ly in even rows, one row just a trifle more elevated than the next so 
that all could fire when the range was right without danger of hitting 
the machine-gunners in front. A machine-gun with its strips of 
cartridges is the most deadly of weapons. Our men went up that 
slope in the face of that fire ! And they went over the crest and a 
mile beyond before they stopped to rest. 



88 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

They are advancing again tonight and the whole Division is 
moving, trying to keep up with the Infantry. Writing this I am 
fifteen kilometers behind the firing line. We move up tomorrow. 

The Dead ! It is no more than your duty to read of the things 
that are not nice about war. You give your money, your comforts, 
your sons, brothers, husbands, sweethearts ; you sacrifice for us, pray 
for us ; you support us as you should ; but you are thousands of miles 
from the mental and physical sufl'ering and a million miles from the 
truth. You don't know what war is! You haven't a conception of 
it. All the stories, lectures and pictures of war in the world would 
not give you an idea of it as it actually is. To realize war you got 
to see it and get the stench. You got to see the dead bodies and 
mutilated bodies and smell the stink. 

The stink! — the "atmosphere" of a battlefield a day old! A 
battlefield — scene of a battle — is glorious, inspiring, like any great 
display of power, like the heavens at night when a fierce, ragged, 
jagged electrical display shatters the sky and shakes you where 
you stand or sit, partly fearful, partly in awe. But a battlefield after 
a battle ; before there has been time to bury the dead, or when the 
burying squads are out dumping the dead Huns in shell holes or 
covering them in their machine-gun pits, and making an attempt at 
handling the bodies of Americans as gently as they would like — it is 
after that one realizes something of war. 

I am writing this sitting at a typewriter in the back end of a 
light delivery truck fixed up temporarily as an office. It has rained 
the greater part of the past two days and is raining now. Our camp 
is in a ravine (Mont St. Pere) in mud and I live in a pup tent which 
is soaking wet, as is everything in it. When we moved in here the 
front was four kilometers away. Now it is fifteen kilometers away. 
We have been here two days. All around are German shells — thous- 
ands of them, mostly gas intended for the taking of Paris. This ra- 
vine a week ago was a Boche ammunition dump and now it is an 
American ammunition dump. 

The days are very, very interesting, but the nights ! The Boche 
planes come over every night flying just above the tree tops. The 
exploding bombs, the anti-aircraft guns and machine-guns start just 
after dark about the time we crawl into wet blankets. I am going 
to bed pretty soon because I can scarcely see to write, and a light is 
the last thing in the world I want. It probably would be with buzzing 
propellers just starting overhead. But before I quit for the night I 



II 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 89 

want to say that I do not mean any personal heroics in the preced- 
ing paragraphs. After reading a little of what I have written I 
sort of feel like a fool, writing about war when I know so little about 
it, but I know more than you who have never been here. I feel al- 
most like a slacker w^heu I think of the fellows who went up that slope. 
I am going to bed — that is, I am going to crawl under the steel 
body of one of our trvicks with my wet blankets — and will write more 

tomorrow. 

« « « « 

4 August. 

So that you may understand how it happens I am privileged to 
get around so much I will tell something of our ammunition train 
and its work. One of our motor truck companies supplies the small 
arms — rifle, chauchet, some machine guns, flares, rockets, hand gren- 
ades and the like — to the Infantry. The other companies haul shells 
to the Artillery. Shells are hauled direct to battery positions from 
the dumps and the small arms go up as far as the first aid dressing 
Stations, possibly the trucks, sometimes, go even a little farther than 
that. Our companies were stationed a few days ago around a circuit 
that took me between 50 and 60 kilometers in my sidecar each morn- 
ing. For a few days now the distance is about 40 kilometers as we 
are well behind the lines and I take in all the companies in a straight 
line on my waj^ up to the small arms company. 

When I had the longer trip our Hq. was in a beautiful old cha- 
teau on the banks of the River Marne and I had it fine, seeing the 
terribleness of it all on the morning trips and laying around on Louis 
the Steenth furniture, or swimming, the rest of the day. I check up 
each of the companies of our Battalion every morning and consoli- 
date their reports. That is my job. 

We didn't move up today as we thought we would as we have 
to haul all the ammunition from the dump here first and it will take 
another day or two. It is still raining on and off, keeping tbe mud 
at about the same consistency. I am writing this at night again 
and it is going to be a short night. I start out at four o'clock in 
the morning to get ahead of the traffic which is something terrific 
during the day. Divisions are on the move trying to keep up with 
the Infantry; supply trucks, ammunition trucks, mules, horses, motor 
vehicles of every descripiton and horse dra\\ni of every kind, long 
guns and short ones, heavy ones and light ones, Cavalry, Infantry, 
soldiers of other nationalities — everything that goes to make up an 



90 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

army — all travelling over the muddy, shelltorn roads which a 
couple days ago carried German traffic. With anything but a side- 
car it is simply a question of getting a place in the line and going 
up with it, no faster, no slower, and it burns up a motorcycle. To- 
morrow morning I am going up in a light delivery truck before the 
heavy traffic starts and take the small arms company its rations, 
saving a trip for someone else. Rations are drawn for one day 
only now. 

Today I made the trip before noon in about three hours. I 
went up five miles farther than I did yesterday, altho a great many 
of the dead for that distance have been buried. In the new territory 
there were new dead, just as thick as yesterday's. The dead Boche 
are just as numerous altho more scattered. Here is another strik- 
ing fact : Last night the colonel of one of our Infantry regiments 
ordered his command back nearly two miles over territory they had 
gained. He made them retreat — because they had ridden the Huns 
so hard they were too far ahead of the Artillery and had no sup- 
port. Think of it ! The Boche is running his head off ! 

Without putting any brag into the remark, and the Infantry 
are the only ones entitled to brag, the Hun is up against a different 
article of war than he ever encountered before. Maybe, as they 
say, he is falling back to a strong point which he thinks he can hold, 
and that we will all dig in for another winter; maybe he is, but I 
don't believe this stuff aboutdigging in for another winter. I think 
we are going to keep on over that strong point of his. With 300,000 
fresh American troops coming over here every month, and all 
bringing the same fighting spirit, Avith Divisions to relieve and rest 
Divisions, it is going to be a different game. I do not mean to dis- 
parage the work of ourAllies, which has been wonderful, but this 
would never have been a four-year war if we could have jumped 
in at the start. Americans fight ' ' different. ' ' 

Our trip here from beautiful Alsace was ideal. We were on 
the road four days coming to this sector and I was practically a free 
lance all the way in my side-ear, visiting awhile in every city thru 
which we passed. The motorcycle couldn't run as slow as the train 
so had either to lag behind or run ahead. There were 150 motor- 
vehicles in the entire train which traveled in echelons. 

For three days the trip was delightful. On the fourth day we 
entered the devastated region. On that day we traveled nearly 
90 miles thru villages and cities, an endless string of them, and eacli 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 91 

place nothing but ruins; not a roof, scarcely, in the whole day; ev- 
ery field plowed up with shells. Not a single civilian inhabitant did 
we see that day — they were refugees. As the afternoon wore on it 
started drizzling and about that time we entered upon the latest 
battlefield of that date. The roar of guns a few miles away was 
plainly audible. I don't know how many miles we traveled before 
it became too dark to see, maybe 30, where both sides of the road- 
way were lined with dugouts, graves and crosses, and the salvage 
and debris of war with not a building that was not razed in sight — 
and not a soul but our own outfit anywhere. In the rain, with 
darkness coming on and chilly, the sidecar in place in the train 
keeping close for company and for fear of losing the road were 
the most depressing hours of my life. 

Then we struck the main highway to the principal city in all 
that wreckage. The big drive had just started a few days and that 
roadway that night is simply indescribable. The traffic was just a 
struggling mass. Everything was being rushed to the front and on 
the same road were the empty trucks coming back. The Germans 
had not left a single thing in the nature of suplies behind except 
ammunition, and we were on the feeder to the whole front in- 
volved. I shall never forget that night — that battling, jabbering, 
swearing mass of traffic. Someway, somehow, the echelons of our 
train were sometime during the night shunted off on sideroads; 
we pitched our tents best we could and crawled in for the few re- 
maining hours of darkness. Daylight found us within sight of 
what was left of the most talked of city in the world that day 
(Chateau Thierry). 

The wreckage and destruction left in this section of France by 
the Germans is beyond description. The Huns looted everything, 
and besides the havoc they wrought French and American guns 
have finished what little the enemy left. Some of these places have 
changed hands a half-dozen times and each time a battle was fought 
for their possession. All that is left is salvage. All the time we have 
been here we have been unable to spend a sou. There is nothing 
money can buy in all this section. We subsist entirely on quarter- 
master stores and the system of provisioning the armies is re- 
markable. 

No matter where you walk you find the discard of the re- 
treating Huns. One can scarcely take a step without planting his 
foot on some sort of ammunition or some article of clothing. Ger- 



92 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

man helmets are as plentiful as the flies, almost. It is hard to resist 
the temptation of collecting souvenirs, but besides not having any 
place to carry them, it is a mighty dangerous pastime. 

One soldier picked up a pair of binoculars. The focus wasn't 
right when he looked thru them so he screwed them a bit and had 
his head blown off. They were loaded. 

A book was left on a table in an old abandoned and wrecked 
house. A wire from the book down the leg of the table blew up a 
mine Avhen the book was picked up. 

Detonators have been placed in coal piles that appeared to have 
been abandoned. 

A sand bag closing up the hole to a shelter was connected with 
a charge. 

Artificial flowers and a bunch of foliage and even pieces of 
shell have been connected with a bomb. 

Very fine wire scarcely noticeable placed across the entrance 
to a shelter upheld a weight which when dislodged fell upon a box 
of detonators connected with an explosive charge. 

A person must be suspicious of everything, especially things that 
shine or that attract attention or the curiosity. Houses which re- 
main intact in the midst of wreckage are always suspected. 

Besides the traps the Huns left a great deal of mustard gas 
was used thru here and it lasts for many days. Anything a person 
may touch may have gas on it, resulting in very painful if not 

fatal sores. 

«f * * » 

France, 16 August. 

Am still safely back of the lines, far enough away to keep out 
of the casualty column by quite a few kilometers. Remember that 
old Civil War story of the soldier who during the height of the 
battle was where the bullets were the thickest — under the ammu- 
nition wagon ? That story does not sound so darned funny any more, 
because it applies in the year 1918, month of August, to me. As I 
wrote you once before, the days are interesting, but the nights! 

Just as darkness comes on comes the Boche bombing planes. 
There are no such things as lights after dark so when daylight fades 
we go to bed, glad to after the days we put in, and just about the 
time drowsiness develops into anability to keep eyes and ears open 
any longer then it is that the hum of his motor grows menacingly 
nearer. So sleepy that it is a shame to be disturbed and then to 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 93 

liave to make a decision on whether to stick it out in bed and take a 
chance or run out where the bullets are thickest — under the am- 
munition wagon. In this case the ammunition wagon happens to 
be a steel Quad truck and the bullets are shell — 155 's or 75 's — and 
really I don't know but what it is just as safe to stay in bed be- 
cause if one of those bombs ever got a direct hit on the truck load 
of ammunition I am under I'll wish I had stayed in bed. If these 
nocturnal visitors continue their calls — we have them with us every 
night — and if we remain in one place long enough — we move every 
day — I am going to build me a dugout and get a decent night's 
sleep. 

Each night we go thru the same program. The same little bed- 
time conversational session takes place while we are undressing and 
the topic is usually whether to take 'em off or not and whether to 
expect him early or late. We stay up a little later waiting for him 
and then being so sleepy it is easy to decide that maybe he won't 
come over and we go to bed; and just about when we are dropping 
off comes that sort of an intermittent whir of the Boche motor and 
that means crawl out in night clothes and get under a truck. The 
duece of it is that every night it is the same story without vari- 
atios, except possibly for the distance away the bombs drop. 

Last night the bombardment lasted a couple of hours and there 
must have been a dozen or more Hun machines over but none of the 
bombs dropped near us. Nevertheless I didn't know how soon they 
would be coming our way so I stuck to the truck until I was chilled 
thru and then said to hell with 'em and went back to bed. Night 
before last, at our old camp, they came pretty close but the most 
damage done was to some perfectly good roads. We had to use 
other and poorer roads the next day. One Headquarters outfit near 
us got hit pretty hard. They had out a big washing in their back 
yard and the line of white clothes evidently showed up quite plain- 
ly from above because a well aimed bomb made a direct hit and that 
outfit is out a lot of nice clean clothes. 

Another bomb dropped near us was an illuminating one that lit 
up the entire country around and burned brightly for fully fifteen 
minutes. The Hun was undoubtedly looking for a field hospital 
near us. That is their great delight — bombing hospitals. During 
the last few nights the Germans have been attempting to do with 
bombing machines what they ordinarily undertake with their ar- 
tillery. Dozens of their planes dropped tons of aerial torpedoes 



94 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

wherever they were likely to find troops quartered. These moon- 
light nights are great for that sort of business and while I hate rain 
and Tiiuddy roads, this pleasant weather, besides making dusty roads 
makes unpleasant nights. It is clouding up a bit this afternoon and 
[ hope it rains — to settle the dust. 

Our camp today is in a woods and I am living under a big 
paulin which serves for my bedroom as well as an office. I have a 
great bed again — a Boche stretcher or litter which I picked up in a 
nearby field. The covering is slightly colored with crimson from 
.some Hun that was only wounded, I suppose, but I have hopes he 
died from the wounds. My slumbers are not disturbed in the least 
by thoughts of any previous occupants of this bed of mine. It 
makes a real comfortable place to sleep but I am having quite a 
time getting used to it. I miss the barnyard odor. I am so ac- 
customed to sleeping around stables that I had about made up my 
mind when I got back home I would get a load of hay to sleep on 
and dump a couple of wheelbarrow loads of manure alongside some 
place with a few boards with cracks between overhead. 

This present camp of ours is located only a couple hundred 
yards from an ammunition dump that contains a few million rounds 
of all the very latest shell and some old ones too. If one of those 
Boche bombs ever strikes this dump it will be Good Night, Sister! — 
and there will be no further need of worrying about sleep. We 
move very often, so often that I sometimes wonder — why? — as we 
ire not required to pay rent, but our next move will be muchly ap- 
preciated. I don 't care how soon we get out of here. 

Our Division, or most of it, is back for a rest. One might say 
we are resting on our laurels, so many nice things have been said 
about us. From way back in Haute-Alsace comes a letter of com- 
mendation from the French general in whose army corps we were, 
expressing the great satisfaction he experienced in having such an 
able division under his command. More recently another letter 
from another French general of another army corps says, "Your 
glorious advances are marked with names w^hich will in the future 
illuminate the military history of the United States. I am proud to 
have commanded such troops." Still another, "The time having 
come to hand over the zone of battle General de Mondesir, com- 
manding the 3rd Corps, addresses all his thanks to the splendid 
troops of the 28th and 32nd American Divisions, who have proved 
during the pursuit, Avhich is still being continued, not only their 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 95 

courage but also their staying qualities. The casualties, the toils 
and hardships due to difficulties of bringing up rations during the 
marching and fighting of this period, were unable to break their 
high morale, their go and their warlike spirit. General de Mondesir 
is proud to have had the opportunity to command them." And 
there are columns of similar praises that can be quoted about this 
Division. 

Our Ammunition Train has had so many nice things said 
about it that we are quite puffed up. Such expressions as, "To hell 
with 'em, this load goes thru," and, "First line? Well, what fells 
the difference?" had their inception in this particular Wisconsin 
outfit, the occasions being, firstly, when Hun artillery had one of our 
battery positions located perfectly and the load of ammunition for 
that particular battery was ordered to stop where it was, and, sec- 
ondly, when a driver lost in the dark ran his truck up ahead of the 
advancing Infantry and stayed with them until they needed his 
load. ! there are more heroes in this outfit than there are maggots 
on a dead Dutchman. 

Back from making itself famous this Division is now checking 
up, correcting faults learned from past mistakes — and executing 
Squads Right and Squads Left again. It's an awful comedown. 
One would think these veterans would have left behind that old drill 
field nightmare. But orders are that a certain number of hours 
each day must be put in on close order drill during the rest period. 
When this Division goes back up there again, which will be in a 
very few days now, if we don't go to another sector in the mean- 
time, it will go thru the Huns like — like — Well, write your own 
metaphorical ticket, you know what I mean. 

Today I again visited the grave of Quentin Roosevelt. It is on 
a nearby slope. When I first saw it about ten days ago it was 
marked simply with a rude wooden cross and his metal identifica- 
tion tag. He fell back of the German lines and the enemy buried 
him. Members of an ambulance company of this Division have 
since fenced in the grave with birch boughs neatly mortised and a 
large cross marks the head of the resting place. There is a bouquet 
of roses on the grave, a tribute placed there by Miss Evangeline 
Booth, "Commander, the Salvation Army, New York.'" 

From earliest remembrance of him I always more than ad- 
mired Colonel Roosevelt. He has always been in the thick of it; 
there has never been any question where he stood on any .siibject 



96 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

and he lias always been in evidence where there was trouble in 
sight. No one has ever doubted his courage or his patriotism. His 
sons have been in the limelight considerably, maybe partly because 
of the proi^iinence of their father, but principally because of their 
own intrepid inheritance. No one doubts their courage or pa- 
triotism. It was with admiration and sorrow that I twice visited 
Quentin Roosevelt's grave. The inscription on the cross at the head 
of his grave reads : 

HERE 

RESTS 

ON 

THE 

FIELD 

OF 

HONOR 

1ST LIEUT. 

QUENTIN ROOSEVELT 

AIR 

SERVICE 

U. 

s. 

A. 
KILIiED 

IN 
ACTION 
JULY 
1 
9 
1 
8 

* * * * 

17 August. 

We haven't moved yet and are not liable to for a few days be- 
cause we are so conveniently located to this big dump from which we 
haul, but we are becoming bored to distraction by the action of some 
of our Coast Artillery. 

We were none too pleasantly located in the first place and who 
should pop up here yesterday but some of the big ones from the 
C. A. and take up a position about two kilometers directly in front 
of us. The C. A. certainly has some nice big guns and we greatly 
enjoy our possession of them but that is no sign we like to have 
them around where we are. They attract Hun artillery fire like 
the Hun does cooties and now our days are about as pleasant as the 
nights. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 97 

Like attracts like in this instance and it is the big ones the 
Boche are sending back. The C. A. is sending over about three 
salvos a minute. The returning shell bursting makes just as much 
noise and while they come in salvos they burst singly. Hour after 
hour, day in and day out this exchange continues. 

The C. A. pulled another fool stunt this afternoon. They 
hoisted a sausage balloon, ostensibly for observation purposes, but 
it looks as though they were giving the Boche our range. You see, 
the C. A. are a couple of kilometers ahead of us and we are di-, 
rectly in line with them and the enemy guns. That balloon makes 
a fine target, and life up there can't be so very pleasant either be 
tause of the bursting high explosive and shrapnel around it, but 
what we are kicking about is that all shell don't burst the way it 
is timed. There are all kinds of "duds," shell that are incorrectly 
timed, or defective in some other way, and when they fail to break 
up there they don't stop — they keep right on traveling and that is 
what musses up our camp. Then every once in a while there hap- 
pens to be a gas shell or two or three and then we live in the gas 
ip.ask an hour or so. 

Understand, our camp is not being shelled continually, but what 
matters it whether thirty shell fall nearby or seventy-two, tlie fact 
that thirty do fall and that it might be seventy-two or two hun- 
dred is sufficient to upset a peaceful state of mind. There is never 
any telling when the next one is coming over and the noise is for- 
ever with us, so it all is just about the same thing from a state of 
mind standpoint. 

Then there is always another thought comes to us when con- 
sidering our possibilities, probabilities and degree of safety. Sup- 
posing some fool Dutchman over there about ten miles should hap- 
pen to twitch that sighting screw a 'steenth of an inch or so some- 
time when monkeying around one of those Hun guns and acci- 
dentally get our exact range? Really, our time is so occupied figur- 
ing our "percentage" that we don't have time to worry about pay 
day and we have missed a couple of months now. Imagine being 
several thousand miles from home and "broke," which is my case. 
And worse than that, imagine a place where it is an utter imposs- 
ibility to spend a cent if one did have it, and that is also my case. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Victorious Division — To Another Front — ^Town of 
the Glass House — Pierrefonds Woods — Juvig- 
ny — Wonderful Work of the Infantry — Boche 
Planes Get Observation Balloons — Boche 
Bombs Come Close — Relieved — In Civilization 
Again — Back to Rest — ^Joinville Area. 

FURTHER replacements had been received in the Ammunition 
Train but the companies of the Motor Battalion were still less 
than 100 strong. The detail which had left Texas with horses 
going to Newport News had rejoined the Horse Battalion. There 
were 397 men in the Motor Battalion and 540 men in the Horsed 
Battalion. Captain Jensen of Company C was selected to return to 
the United States in August as instructor in ammunition transpor- 
tation and was to be promoted to a major. Lieut. Nelson was in 
charge of Company C and during the first week in September was 
promoted to a captain. 1st Lieut. Coe was promoted to a captain 
in August and Supply Officer Schantz was made a first lieutenant 
at about the same time. In the first week in September the latter 
was made a captain. Lieut. Cairy was transferred to Train head- 
quarters as personnel adjutant and made a captain. 

The Horsed Battalion at Reddy Farm and the Motor Battalion 
in Gossoncourt Woods broke camp within an hour of each other on 
the afternoon of August 24. The Horsed outfit at 2 :30 o 'clock that 
afternon left on the march while an hour later the Motor Train 
pulled out. During the afternoon the Horsed Battalion passed thru 
Courmont, Fresnes, Beuvardes and made camp that night a little 
after 7 o'clock near Coincy, near where one of the Big Berthas that 
shelled Paris had been located. The next day from 7 o'clock in the 
morning until 11 o'clock at night the battalion continued on the 
march, thru Rocourt Ste Martin, Grisalles to Neuilly St. Front for 
the noon rest and when the march again started the roads were 
blocked with the brigade artillery, compelling the battalion to re- 



TPIRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 99 

turn to its camp in the woods until the roads were cleared. At 7 
o'clock that night the march was resumed and during the height 
of a rain storm, about 11 o'clock, the battalion made camp in the 
woods south of Villers Cotterets. The next day the battalion made 
Pierrefonds where the Motor Battalion was found already camped 
in the woods, having spent the previous night at Guise Lamotte. 

The Division went into the front line near Juvigny the night 
of August 28 and was relieved September 2 after a spectacular and 
victorious attack. Until September 9 it remained in reserve. The 
57th Brigade was back of the infantry during the attack and it 
was here that the "triple barrage" originated. It was the 107th 
Ammunition Train that hauled the wherewith for those triple bar- 
rages and the work was strenuous as well as hazardous. Our cas- 
ualties were quite numerous. The Horsed Battalion worked from 
Vezaponin, as did Company C, while Train Headquarters and the 
remainder of the outfit worked out of Berny Riviere near Vic-sur- 
Aisne. 

After dropping back to Bitry, while the Horsed Battalion went 
into Vic-sur-Aisne, the Motor Battalion left the Soissons area at 
5 o'clock in the morning of September 10 in a drenching rain. Train 
Headquarters and the Medical and Ordnance detachments accom- 
panied the battalion. The Train was in Chateau Thierry about noon 
that day and spent the night near Montmiral. It rained continually 
night and day. St. Dizier was the second day's destination. The 
next day the Train arrived in the Joinville area. Companies A, B 
and Motor Headquarters were billeted at Lafolie, while Companies 
C and D with Train Headquarters billeted in Lafolie Ferreres, two 
miles south. 

The horsed Battalion loaded on trains at Vaumoise the night of 
September 10 and were routed thru Nantenil, Demmartin, vicinity of 
Paris, Coulommiers, Esternay, Sezanne, Vitry le Francoise, arriving 
at St. Dizier midnight September 11. Unloading the battalion 
marched to Wassy, arriving 8 o'clock the next morning. 

* * m * 

France, 27 August. 
I am going to start a letter but don't know when I will finish 
it. We are camped in a woods and awaiting orders. Have been 
here two days now awaiting orders which may come in five minutes, 
five hours, or tomorrow. Every bit of equipment is packed and all 
we have to do is crank up and we are gone. We can start at a 



100 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

moment's notice and that is the way it has been since yesterday. 
Dare not leave camp for fear orders may reach us. We have to 
stick around and there is absolutely nothing to do, hence this letter 
— which is not very flattering to you. Is it? 

We are enroute again on our way from one sector to another. 
You guessed where we were and you can guess again where we are 
going. Our division was in that foot-race with the Germans and 
our form shovv'ed so good we are going up against the best they 
have now. We are the first American troops in this particular 
sector; that is, we are the first here for business — not training. 

I understand that after we leave a sector we are allowed to 
state that we were there. Anyway you had guessed it, as I saw the 
statement in home papers, so I may as well tell you that we were 
in the drive north of Chateau-Threrry. 

If the war should end tomorrow and we were ordered home I 
would have seen enough of Avar to last me the rest of my days. The 
division entered that drive shortly after it started and went the 
gamut, clean to Fismes, running the Dutchman ragged. But some 
times they didn't run and then there was slaughter. They would 
guess they had a position strong enough to enable their retreating 
hordes to save supplies and ammunition while they held it, but their 
halts were short lived. Every town meant a battle — Ciegres, Sergy, 
Coulonges, Cohen, Dravegny, St. Gilles and the whole list of towns 
way to the Vesle, every one a fight. The division is out of it for a 
few days now, but I understand our new sector is the real big 
league stuff — that we have been in the bushes. 

Today is Tuesday. We left our camp on the Soissons-Reimes 
front last Saturday afternoon and have not travelled far since. 
After a few hours out we entered territory that had never been 
occupied bj^ the Huns and the sight of buildings with walls stand- 
ing and whole roofs was truly refreshing. Still there were no ci- 
vilian inhabitants. German guns had reached nearly there and 
German planes were nightly raiders. I am wrong in stating that 
the Germans never occupied that territory — they were all thru here 
in 1914 but not since. At that time they came thru in column for- 
mation (not spread out) and their ravages were committed in paths 
like the wake of a cyclone. When their push receded they spread 
out after a time but they were going too fast to leave the country 
desolate as they did from the Marne to the Vesle. 

At one time our Headquarters was in Azy on the Marne and it 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 101 

was Avonderful. We were in an old chateau that had somehow 
escaped distruction, with the beautiful Marne flowing by, and it 
was dreamland for a few days. Tow boats ply the Marne and are 
locked thru. The river is narrow but deep, the water is clear, 
green and cool. It was all delightful with bright sun shining days 
— but over here you can't get away from the Hun. He continually 
mars the occasion no matter what it may be. At Azy it wasn't the 
live Huns, but the dead ones — their dead bodies floating down the 
Marne. 

To get back to our trip : We did finally that day pass thru one 
town that had its civilians but there was only one such town and it 
was dark when we reached it. 

Saturday night we put up in a very nice city — no civilians but 
in the moonlight the buildings appeared undamaged. It was near- 
ly midnight when we stopped and I was dead tired. I lugged my 
bed across the street into a swell looking place surrounded by trees 
and was asleep the moment my head touched the pillow, and I got 
a pillow. There were a dozen Boche planes over the town that 
night bombarding as tho it was Paris. Bursting bombs shook the 
earth. They even awakened me, but I was too tired to give a darn 
and simply turned over on my good ear shutting out most of the 
commotion. I was in a house anyway and it made me feel pretty 
safe. A roof over one's head means something toward safety. 

I had a regular Saturday-night-Sunday-morning sleep and the 
glare of the sun didn't awaken me until 9 o'clock. My first thought 
was that I had slept in the open again, it was so light; then I re- 
membered the bombardment and that I was in a house. The 
"bright light" and "house" didn't quite jibe in my confused mind 
and I sat up in bed. I had slept in a glass house! 

Boche dropping tons of bombs and me living in a glass house! 
If he had been dropping bottles of beer I suppose I would have 
picked out some W.C.T.U. headquarters for sleeping quarters. 

One look out of the window and I discovered that I had not 
only slept in a glass house, but also next door to a thousand Huns! 
f dressed rather hurridly. 

I was on my last wrap putt when I had a visitor, a Frenchman, 
v;hom I joyfully welcomed but he brought distressing tidings. He 
pointed to a pile of bales and bags I had failed to notice and by his 
"beaucoup vermin" and his scratching I determined I had slept in 
a disenfecting plant. I put on the last putt out of doors. 



102 THEU THE WAR WITH OUT OUTFIT 

So far it has turned out all right. I scratched a little more 
than ordinarily for a while but close inspection failed to reveal any- 
thing but what I already had, so why worry ? 

My "glass house" at one time had been the conservatory of a 
beautiful chateau but more recently a sort of a salvage dump where 
old clothing is disenfected before being put to use again. My next 
door neighbors, as newly arrived as I, were properly guarded and 
enclosed in a barbed-wire field. In the bunch were a couple hun- 
dred Alsatians who were Avilling prisoners. 

During the morning we watched the Huns sun themselves and 
later march out of their stockade bound for some interior prison 
camp. They made quite a string and gazed at the American sol- 
diers in a curious, questioning manner as tho somebody had been 
fooling them. They appeared to be trying to make up their minds 
whether or not the Kaiser had kidded them about that "one Amer- 
ican division." 

They had been told there was only one division of Americans 
over here. One of our men, who can understand German, over- 
heard a group of them arguing. One said he couldn't be fooled, 
there was more than a division of Americans. Another guessed a 
million and a third said more likely four million. "They are all 
over," he said. In that lot of a thousand I failed to notice any 
particularly young or old men and they compared in age with our 
own soldiers. They were a dirty, "oxy," stupid lot, tho. 



Still-in-the-Woods, 28 August. 

Within a kilometer of our camp is a well known city, the home 
of the largest and most famed chateau in France. Nearby is also 
the largest cave I have ever seen or heard of, extending for miles 
in each direction. This morning I discovered its location by seeing 
hundreds of Frenchmen cropping out of the ground from the nu- 
merous exits. The French come from miles around to spend the 
night in safety. The entire population of the eity sleeps there 
nights. It is large enough to hold a division. If we are here to- 
night I know where I sleep — last night the Huns turned loose in 
this woods with machine guns, planes coming down to the very 
tree tops. 

The cave is an underground quarry from which building stone 
has been taken in large blocks for the construction of the chateau 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 103 

and numerous other structures in this vicinity. It is very old and 
for hundreds of years has been steadily enlarged. 

The city is a health resort in peace times and much frequented 
by the people of France as well as Americans, but principally by 
Americans I suppose. I trust the health of the visitors here is bene- 
fited and that the town is a useful community but I can't believe 
it exists for any other purpose than to get the money attracted by 
the chateau. And the only evident purpose of the chateau is to 
attract dollars for the town. From ray inquiries I am unable to 
learn any use which is made of the chateau. People who might 
know and of whom I inquire, break out with exclamations and 
describe its size, history and number of years required to build it 
and all that, but I can't find out if it had any other purpose than to 
get American dollars. 

The chateau was originally built a hundred years before Amer- 
ica was brought to the attention of the public, which shows the re- 
markable foresight of the French. It was built by Louis of Orleans, 
brother of Charles VI, in 1392, and dismantled during the reign of 
Louis XIII, which was in sixteen-hundred something, I think. Na- 
poleon III started the work of reconstruction in 1858 and the job 
isn't finished yet. 

Maybe the chateau had no other use than that of an attrac- 
tion. I presume if I could get a Frenchman quieted down lons^ 
enough and could get him coherent on the subject — get him where 
he wouldn't slop all over with Mon Dieus and waving arms — maybe 
then he might say sometliing intelligent about its functions, but 
whether or not it has any state use, or any material usefulness, its 
massive beauty is excuse enough for its existence. 

I know little of architecture, but to me it always seems that 
architecture must be surrounded by age to make it impressing and 
imposing. Occasionally somebody from America comes over here 
and copies something but when the duplicate is put on over there 
it sort of falls flat and looks like a four-flush, or like a dollar 
monument. 

Some of the original walls of this chateau and one fireplace re- 
main. The rest of the structure is, of course, comparatively new. 
but its newness is all copied and patterned from the ruins of the old. 
The old statue of Julius Caesar is on display but the niche in the 
outer wall which it formerly occupied now holds a new statue, the 
replica of the old. There are cupolas, toAvers, acades, galleries. 



104 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

stairways, arches, piers, avenues, cellars, dungeons, until one is lost 
in the maze and most wonderful of all is the ornamentation, as fine 
and intricate when seen from a distance as rare old lace. 

Night before last a Hun dropped a bomb on the chateau but 
it failed to explode. The bomb went thru four floors and is em- 
bedded in the fifth. Last night two bombs struck it. One ex- 
ploded when it struck the roof and the second went thru the roof 
and burst on the top floor. The damage done was very little. It 
would require a hundred bombs to destroy the building. Just as 
soon as the Hun meets reverses his reprisals consist in night bom- 
bardments of some defenseless city or thing of beauty. The ca- 
thedrals and churches I have seen which he has ruined ! 

* # * * 

1 September. 

Back on my letter again. I am going to finish it if it takes all 
summer, but things are happening so fast and I am so busy that I 
can't quite catch up. When I put "finis" on this I would like to 
have it up to date anyway. I'll have to hustle. 

We are on a new front, all right. At least it is new to Amer- 
ican soldiers. Our Division busted into line the first night here 
and busted 'em wide open — went into 'em for five kilometers and 
400 prisoners before daylight. In the moonlight the Hun recognized 
the "crazy Americans" and evacuated — "evacuated" is the right 
word, the dirty Hun is scared ! Yes he is ! Why all the running 
and all the prisoners if he isn't? He has a bellyful right now! 

The people of Wisconsin and Michigan have reason to be proud 
of this Division. The 32nd has done wonderful work. Not only 
has it been mentioned in General Orders by General Pershing, but 
especially singled out to do this tour on this front. We are not 
working with an American army corps but with a French. Our 
support and reserves are French and French Colonials, respective- 
ly, the latter Moroccoans and dangerous fighters. We are practical- 
ly a shock division, shunted from one front to another to hit hard, 
and hitting hard grab off hundreds of prisoners and guns and spoils, 
and beat it — to hit 'em again some place else. 

The Division got front page, two center columns and a double- 
column cut, in this morning's paper, the first paper we have seen in 
a week. No English language papers got to this sector before be- 
cause there were only French and Colonials here. We made a big 
advance, taking an important point all by our lonseome. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 105 

This "point" the Division took was a town. That is, it was a 
town one time. Today a sign board with the name of the town 
marks the location but one could never tell from appearances that 
a town with buildings and people had ever covered the spot. Even 
the usual tumbled down walls are blown to dust, and cellars and the 
usual other marks of a shelled town are obliterated. 

There were French to the right and French to the left, with the 
position of our Infantry projecting ahead fully a kilometer beyond 
the farthest French line. There were woods directly to the right 
of our Infantry and also directly to the left, the woods, filled with 
German machine guns, blocking the French and almost surrounding 
our Infantry. The Division was in what might be called a pre- 
carious position, and had the flank supports failed it would have 
been disastrous. But everything is lovely now. The INFx\NTRY, 
and I got it in caps, kept right on going regardless. The swath 
they cut extended its moral influence quite promiscuously in that 
section of the country last night, or rather late yesterday after- 
noon. The French came right along too. The artillery simply blew 
up the woods, and tanks, hundreds of little fellows, and the In- 
fantry did the rest. This Infantry of ours is the best in the world ! 

I want to say something about the air support we receive from 
the French and the British, but the French especially support us. 
Our own air service, I am afraid, is almost a negligible factor, but the 
confidence instilled by the Frencli and British planes does much 
toward the American victories. Planes swarm in the air from morn- 
ing until night and while they are up above it gives a wonderful 
feeling of confidence. 

Back in the Chateau-Thrirry sector we did not have this won- 
derful air support and the fellows — our own men from home — have 
told me in pitiful tones of how, around Fismes, Boche planes in 
dozens would swoop down on them, riddling our lines with ma- 
chine guns, and not one of our planes in sight. 

Along this front observation balloons as far as the eye can see 
clearly point out our line, and opposite them are the German bal- 
lons, making two almost parallel but not straight lines eight or ten 
kilometers apart. Hovering over each balloon is a fleet of protect- 
ing planes and on the ground are batteries of anti-aircraft guns. 
a battery for each "sausage." Higher up are the patrol planes. 
Then there are the planes acting with the artillery and lower down 
the planes doing duty with the Infantry, and going back and forth, 



106 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

coming in and going out, are the raiders and bombers and fighting 
planes. Planes everywhere ! 

But with all this protection the Boche do get by sometimes. 
Yesterday morning I was up with our small arms ammunition com- 
pany. The day was nice and pleasant with the sun shining blight- 
ly but with numerous small clouds in the sky. Somebody counted 
eighty-seven planes going over toward the German lines in one 
fleet and the lieutenant was telling me of the wonderful air pro- 
tection we were getting here. 

We were standing on a hill looking over to where the German 
shell were sending up volcanoes of dust where they hit. At our 
feet in a gully was a battery of big fellows, each shell going out 
with a crash and screech portending bad luck for some Hun. 

Suddenly the big guns were silent. Then it seemed a million 
A.A's and machine guns opened up. "Look, look!" somebody cried, 
and two Boche planes dropped out of a low cloud right over our 
heads and swooped down on a balloon whose protecting planes were 
someplace else. Putter, putter, went eight or ten Boche plane 
bullets into the big sausage, and over its side came a nice white 
parachute with the observor hanging on and so slowly did he des- 
cend it seemed the flaming sausage would drop on his head. 

"You are missing something," said the lieutenont, quietly. I 
had been so intend watching the observor in his parachute and the 
burning balloon that I failed to follow the Boche, and just turned 
in time to see their dip at a second sausage and a second parachute 
descent. Then I began "pulling" for the A.A.'s and machine guns 
whose roar and rattle was deafening, like a hundred boiler shops 
and a thousand pneumatic riveting machines on the job. Why the 
Boche were escaping was a mystery. They headed for a third bal- 
loon, dipped for that but missed and ofi^ they headed across for 
]ionie with the din growing louder and louder as more guns took up 
the chase. Larger guns were after them too and the black H.E.'s 
hurst all around them. It looked as thought the Boche were going 
to get away. Smaller and smaller they were groAving in the distance 
and I was just thinking their stunt about the slickest I had ever 
seen, vrhen first one ond then the other began wabbling. One lost 
a wing f^ompletely and fell like a log. The other made a landing but 
it was in our lines. 

Our headquarters is back of the line far enough so that we are 
comparatively "safe " We are back quite a distance because there 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 107 

is ahsolntely no shelter — woods, trees or brush — betAveen here and 
the front line in which to park our equipment when it is not in use. 
The Chateau-Thierry sector might be called a prosperous farming 
community compared to this. Nights, however, the Boche come 
over. I would like to spend a night someplace pretty soon where 
there would be no bombarding. 

The danger isn't entirely from Boche bombs, either. The A.A. 
guns shoot shrapnel and H.E. and what goes up must come down. 

In our present location we are surrounded by a half-hundred 
or more A.A. guns and night batteries of machine guns. We are lo- 
cated near the railhead and all these guns are for the protection of 
the town. There are also batteries of high-powered search lights that 
sweep the heavens. When the Boche come over, and he comes every 
night, and all the guns begin popping with seachlights playing all 
over the sky, one can't very well ignore it all. There is no sleep 
ever until the Hun is chased away and quiet comes on. The nights 
are quite cold now and it isn't much fun getting out of bed and in 

BVDs and a steel helmet crawl under a truck. 

* * # * 

France, 8 September. 
Today we are in a new camp, in the fringe of a woods that 
shelters us from the rain which is spoiling the day for us and from 
the eagle eye of enemy planes which would be over if the day were 
avorable. This is one of the nicest camps we have had in many 
weeks. From my tent thru the opening in the trees I can see traffic 
passing on a real roadway, not one torn up by shell, and I can see 
wheat fields with the grain in shocks. There is a great hill at my 
back and a valley before me; and a famous river runs thru the 
valley. Less than a kilometer away is a village, a rather large one, 
which looks real promising and if the rain lets up I am going over 
and investigate. I think possibly people may be living there and 
there may even be stores where a person can buy things and possibly 
a cafe or two. It is so long since I have seen a town that wasn't all 
shot to pieces that I am anxious to visit any new place to see, think- 
ing there might be a chance to spend some money. I wish it would 
stop raining. 

We )uoved into this new camp last night, a move of only a few 
kilometers, but what a difference in the appearance of the country! — 
from war and ruin to quiet and preserved farm land; from territory 
the Hun held and lost to soil never defiled by his presence. 



108 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

The whole division is out of the line and all but we are already 
farther south. We remained a few days to gather up empty shell 
cases from the ammunition dumps and battery positions. We use all 
French ammunition in our artillery and are credited with empties 
returned to the salvage dump. The valuation of the empties is a 
suri)risingly large amount. 

At our division headquarters an entraining order is being pre- 
pared and within a day or two we will all be bound for somewhere 
else. Everybody in the outfit is wondering where we are going. Ev- 
erybody is plugging for a rest, but it will probably be another hot 
sector instead. While awaiting entraining orders, tho, we are get- 
ting a chance to rest up. The infantry and artillery are over in that 
big woods near the city of the Chateau, and, I suppose, wallowing 
around in the river that runs thru there. Our bunch is laying 
around in their pup tents taking an enforced rest. Darn the rain, 
anyway ! I want to see that town. 

If there was ever a place I wanted to get away from it was our 
last camp — I mean the one we just left. It was in the midst of deso- 
lation and while but few shell fell in the vicinity in the day time 
the nights were hideous, the last night we were there especially so. 
It had been a real warm day, warm compared to the weather we have 
had this summer. We have had no summer as we have in Wiscon- 
sin. I don't suppose there has been fifteen days all this year that I 
have gone without a coat, and the nights are all chilly. 

Well, the day I am telling of, Friday, was real warm and the 
warmth continued during the evening and until dark. The division 
had gone out, victorious, and as is usual with the Hun Avhen he gets 
licked a-i>lenty, he comes over in force at night in reprisal. The 
sky was streaked with searchlights in the distance around us, but 
we Avere in a quiet zone. To the east, west and south we watched 
the sky and heard the distant whirr of Hun motors, the bursting 
bombs and A.A. 's. It seemed we were to be passed up for the night 
for a wonder and finally Avent to bed. It was pretty late, too ; near- 
ly 10 o'clock. 

During the ten or fifteen minutes I took undressing the Hun 
was upon us. There must have been eight or ten machines that our 
searchlights and A.A.s played on. The crunch of bursting bombs 
was all about us. First the flash and then the c-r-runeh, simultane- 
ously as he neared us. Cr-r-runch ! Cr-r-runch ! Two hit so close I 
tried to dig a hole in ray pillow with my head. The Hun was di- 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 109 

rectly over us ! The burning question was : Will the next one get us ? 

Cr-r-runch ! He missed. Cr-r-runch ! Cr-r-runch ! Cr-r-runch ! 

Three more and so close I was in a cold sweat, shaking all over; so 

weak I had a dickens of a time crawling out of bed and lighting a 

cigarette. Three whiffs of the cigarette and I was out in the open, 

listening to the disappearing plane and as brave as any of 'em that 

came from dugouts, holes and from under trucks. 

Of this whole war here, the worst fear I have is of those darned 

planes. They do little harm — I don't know of any material damage 

they did in our vicinity that night — but they sure can whiten up a 

fellow's hair. 

* * * * 

9 September. 

It didn't stop raining until late last night but I saw that town 
anyway. Went down in the rain and got wet ; also got a bottle of 
Bordeaux red wine and a bottle of Epernay white wine for five francs 
each from a French commissary, so the rain wasn't so bad after all. 
But I was disappointed in the town. The Teut had never been there 
but his shell had. Altho few buildings were destroyed the civilians 
did not know at the time just what buildings were going to be hit 
so they very wisely packed up and moved. They are not back yet. 

One strange sight in the town is a camouflaged river. A green 
screen fully thirty feet high follows the river bank for a mile or 
more. This river (Aisne), like the Marue, is narrow but deep and 
navigable for tow barges and tugs. I cannot imagine why the screen 
is so high, as the only boats I have seen are without masts, unless it 
may have been for the purpose of hiding the smoke from the tug- 
boats. A railroad runs thru the toAvn, too. Saw a long string of 
prisoners coming in under guard of French Colonials. Our division 
took a thousand prisoners in our few days on this front. This in- 
formation was given out in another order telling how good we are — 
more praise for the 32nd. 

Today is real nice ; the sun is shining and the rain of yesterday 
settled the dust which means a nice clean trip for us. We leave at 
five o'clock in the morning and don't know where we are going. 
Neither do we care — we enjoy these overland trips immensely. We 
know only our first destination ; when we reach there, about 10 A.M., 
we get another destination, and so on during the trip, never know- 
ing our routing for more than a half-day in advance. When we get 
our second destination we ought to be able to make a pretty good 



110 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

guess as to our final destination and ought to know almost to a cer- 
tainty whether it is "rest" or another licking for Crown Prince & Co. 

Tomorrow for the first few hours we will travel roads we passed 
over in July and will again visit toAvns that were all shot up. Am 
curious to know whether those towns are again doing business now 
that the Hun is chased back so far. The French get back to their 
homes and their land usually before the German is cold in the dis- 
tance. They are not supposed to return until the government gives 
them permission but they do. I have frequently seen families work- 
ing in the field when shell were dropping within sight, and people 
in towns where shell were still occasionally falling. 

I remember one old fellow back in Alsace who was as mad as a 
wet hen. Back there in our time the war was a joke and fields were 
cultivated up to the line. This old codger was all heated up one 
morning because during the night the Boche had dropped a dozen 
shell over in his newly plowed and planted land. He Avas out there 
in the field filling up holes and mumbling and growling something in 
French that sounded very much to me like cuss words. 

A tale I recall from back there is of a particularly "active" bit 
of front. From the other side came each morning and evening a 
dozen or so big shell, a little later the rattle of machine gun bullets 
and shortly after a few volleys of rifle fire. This "heavy" fire be- 
came monotoneous in its regularity to the newly arrived Americans 
and one night a half million dollar barrage was put on and the boys 
went over the top. They put an end to that active bit of front. 
Storming a trench they captured the enemy "en force." The enemy 
was an old Dutchman with a wooden leg whom the boys had fre- 
quently heard stumping along a wooden walk on the other side of 
No Man's Land in the still of the night. He had been a hard work- 
er and stumped many a kilometer each day out to the artillery, back 
to the machine gun position and then to the trenches. He had held 

the line without loss for a good many days. 

* * * * 

14th September. 
Time was, when if I happened to get out in the morning before 
the dew was off the ground and got my shoes damp I contracted a 
sore throat, ear trouble, a cough, chills and fever, the ague and a 
few other minor ailments, but now it is quite different. For three 
days and three nights I was wet to the skin; went to bed wet and 
got up the same way, traveled all day in rain and slept soaked in it 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 111 

all night; it was mostly cold rain, too, and I haven't even got the 
snifHes. That the kind of a tough guy I am, now. 

Tuesday morning in a drizzling rain I got up at 3 :30 rolled up 
my belongings and taking my seat in the side car embarked with our 
train for an unknown destination. Three hours after my arising 
hour daylight filtered thru the rain-clouds and about the same time 
somebody opened up with everything they had up above. It came 
from the cold faucet, too, and filled up the bath tub which the side- 
car so much resembles. Then the motor bucked — wet wires— and no 
shelter in sight. It was not Avhat once could call a propitious start 
for the trip so pleasantly contemplated. 

The driver and I pushed the machine up a long hill and coasted 
doAvn the other side to a town where we found a place to dry out 
the outfit. Still it rained and the train had left us way behind. We 
finally made another start— in the rain — and I had made up my mind 
there was no need to trj' any longer to get dry or keep dry. We 
just sloshed along and about with that complaining motor and just 
before reaching our first destination caught up with the train. 

It rained all day long; sometimes it only sprinkled but the 
average for the day was a hundred. We were scheduled that night 
for billets but they didn't materialize and it was pup tents instead. 
A pup tent, if you don't happen to know, consists of two shelter 
halves and is for two men. I had one shelter half and slept alone. 
It rained while I was trying to arrange that protection over my 
Boche stretcher, which I still possess and cherish. The rain made 
our supper something I couldn't appreciate. I got my shoes off and 
into bed. It rained all night long and the roof leaked, as had my 
slicker all day. I hope the man who made our slickers has to spend 
the rainy season down below in one of them. 

Maybe a thousand automobiles and trucks passed within three 
feet of my head during that night: I don't know. But if they did, 
and I was told there were, I didn't know a thing about it because 
I slept like I did those nights in that big French bed down in Alsace, 
and got up at daylight. It was still raining. 

Fortified with a cup of warm rain water and uncooked coffee- 
grounds we started another day; that is, the train started another 
day. I started forty-six miles behind the train. To find a long, 
lean, lanky looking, lonesome solo rider, and for other reasons, 1 
had to go back twenty-three miles. Still raining and T will stretch 



112 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

out this sentence for the whole day — still raining — and I don't want 
to repeat so will not say anything about the night, nor the next day. 
Life was getting to be just one rainy day after another, the only 
variation being that the night rain was colder than the day. 

Everything must come to an end. The rain finally stopped. The 
fact encourages me to believe the war will end some day. Our 
journey also came to an end. We live in billets now, under roofs that 
don't leak — and the sun slwnes brightly all day long. 

While our trip was a continual round of displeasure and dis- 
comforts I can't say I didn't enjoy it. I had a lot of fun in spite of 
the weather. I had just enough work to do to feel that I was really 
busy beating it up and down the column, when I would catch up to 
it ; the roads were grand after we got out into civilization, and the 
old bus can make forty-five miles an hour. We made a lot of good 
towns and cities with real people and real business places in them 
and I got rid of a lot of francs. And then one night when we were 
camped near a big town we stepped out and put over a cliaiiipagne 
barrage. It was "dry" stuff. 

Besides we saw a great deal new country, places we had never 
been thru before, many of them very interesting, and no matter if 
it was raining and nasty I took them all in. We were in Chateau- 
Thierry again and you wouldn't know the old place now. Every- 
body is back home and business is booming. 

We are located now where the Boche can't find us nights, and 
still not so far away but that we hear of the wonderful victories the 
Americans are winning. It makes us hanker to get back to the line. 



CHAPTER IX. 

On the Meuse Argonne Front — Start of the OfFens-^ 
ive — Companies Working Night and Day — 
Bois de Brocourt — Rumors of Peace — Ger- 
mans Evacuating — Roads ObHterated But Am- 
munition Must Go Forward — Verdun — In- 
ternal "Feuds" — Intellectual Barrages — Scenes 
Along the Old Hindenberg Line — One Night 
Stands — ^Shelled and Bombed from Pillar to 
Post — Epionville — Very — Overcoming the Im- 
possible in Ammunition Hauls. 

FROM September 11 to 17th the Horsed Battalion remained in 
Wassy cleaning and repairing equipment and getting the 
horses back in shape ; also following out a drill schedule and 
enjoying the first rest in months. The Motor Battalion with Train 
Headquarters and detachments remained at Lafolie and Ferreres 
until September 22. Nearly 100 men were received as replacements 
of which 77 were used in the Motor Battalion companies. Motor 
equipment was gone over, overhauled and repaired, and the trucks 
were once more placed in good running order. 

The day the outfit left Lafolie Regimental Supply Sergeant 
Wallace R. Olson was sent to the hospital. He had contracted a 
severe cold and pneumonia was feared. Four days later he died 
and pneumonia was the cause of his death. 

On the 17th the Horsed Battalion left Wassy, reaching Prez sur 
Marne the next day, Robert Espagne on the 19th, Mussey the 20th, 
Beauzee the 21st and Wally the 22nd. The Battalion was in Dom- 
basle the 25th on the way to Brocourt Woods and from there moved 
to the Bois de Hesse, remaining there until the 28th, when it moved 
to Montfaucon, taking a position north of the town. After suffer- 
ing a number of casualties from shell and gas and having a num- 
ber of horses killed orders were received to move to the woods 



114 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

south of Montfaucon. The Battalion had just cleared from the old 
location when an enemy plane hovered over the place and returned 
to its lines. Almost immediately a heavy shelling of the old loca- 
tion started. A small arms ammunition shed was blown up and 
burned. The trip to the south of the town was made without mis- 
hap but nearby a field hospital of the 79th Division was shelled and 
wounded inmates killed. The roadside was strewn with wounded 
and dead, traffic was congested and numerous trucks were in the 
ditches. Until the Battalion left Montfaucon on October 16 there 
was continual shelling of the vicinity and enemy bombing planes 
came over every night. 

Traveling nights and laying up days the Motor Battalion had 
passed thru Bar le Due to Brocourt Woods, arriving there at 2 -.30 
o'clock the morning of September 24. Enroute the day previous 
orders had been received transferring the entire Ammunition Train 
to the 79th Division. While the Argonne offensive did not start un- 
til the 26th the Motor Battalion started work the very minute it 
arrived at the front and four men of Company B were wounded the 
first day. Every truck in the outfit was engaged night and day 
hauling for the 57th Brigade which had also been transferred to 
the 79th Division. Forty more replacements were received and 
there was no let up to the strain. Night and day the men were on 
the road. "I can't see how they stand it," remarked Colonel Mc 
Cully, when one convoy came in to camp for a hot meal after hav- 
ing been out 72 hours. The 32nd Division was in reserve until the 
30th when it went into the front line and remained in until Oc- 
tober 20th. The 107th Ammunition Train hauled continually for 
whatever division happened to be in front of it, without rest, scarce- 
ly without sleep, except when the drivers hunched up on the front 
seat of their truck in the rain and stole a few winks while waiting 
for congested traffic to be relieved. Every company had trucks on 
special duty with the artillery. Company C had the small arms 
ammunition dump near Montfaucon. 

Corporal Richard Rothemal, of Train Headquarters, was killed 
by shell fire at 3 :30 o 'clock on the afternoon of October 3 near Brig- 
ade Headquarters between Montfaucon and Cuisy. 

The Horsed Battalion moved to Epionville October 16 where it 
remained in the woods until November 8, working all the time, when 
it moved back to the Bois de Corapte. The Motor Battalion luoved 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 115 

to Epionville October 24 and back to Very the next day where Train 
Headquarters had been established the previous day. 

France, 30 September. 

We are camped in another woods on another front. It is rain- 
ing almost continually and it is cold. There is mud all about and 
the soggy turf is like in some southern river bottoms. We haven't 
seen the sun for days, except for an occasional fleeting peep be- 
tween rain clouds. We are tired, overworked and wet. This 
sounds rather forlorn but actually it isn't. We are not in the 
least depressed. 

The Hun is on the run again and all roads from the front carry 
column after column of prisoners. I saw one string of 700 yester- 
day, another bunch of 300 and another nearly as large, all goose- 
stepping back to the rear. In the stockade here are several thous- 
and more and this pen is being continually emptied and filled again. 
They are all from the drive which started night before last. The 
enemy surrenders whenever opportunity affords but in the mean- 
time he must fight. They are being driven back and back, always 
back, to Hundom. They are whipped and only awaiting the end 
which must come soon. 

We just heard of Bulgaria's peace maneuver and of the terrible 
wallop the British gave the Turk. Wish we could get hold of a 
newspaper. You over there know more each night what is happen- 
ing than we who are right on the spot. 

Saw the start of this drive, knew it was coming and knew the 
hour. We traveled nights coming up here and kept under 
cover during the day. Our troops were simply poured into this 
sector, secretly, and I believe the surprise was complete. 

During our last night's run we passed innumerable tanks and 
guns of all descriptions. During the afternoon preceeding the night 
of the start of the drive I met an artillery captain who was cussing 
for fair and the subject of his highly spiced remarks was tanks. 
Three hundred of them came crawling up behind his battery and 
like big blind monsters kept right on traveling regardless of obstruc- 
tions, finally spreading out and stopping directly in front of the cap- 
tain's battery. In their course laid pup-tents and dugouts and 
these had been flattened out, and "the damned Frogs" (they were 
French tanks) had run right over the captain's tent, flattening out 
ever>i:hing and breaking his shaving mirror. 



116 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

Tanks look just like big, lazy, sluggish box tortoise. They lay 
around in ditches and fields tipped over on their sides or in some 
position that resembles nothing except broken down machines 
shoved out of the way of traffic. Upon my first encounter with them 
I thought they were wrecked, some that were put out of commission 
in battle. One tank lay on its side in a ditch as tho it had slid off 
the muddy road-bed. I stopped to examine it and found two French- 
men asleep on their rubber coats alongside. The visors of the men's 
helmets were cut straight off and a band across the front of the hat 
bore the insigna of the cross-bones. How the Hun does fear the 
French tanks ! 

My presence evidently awoke the men. One looked at his watch, 
said something, and both scrambled aboard as the tank lay. One took 
his place at the wheel, sitting with his legs spread ahead of him, 
and the other, the gunner, astraddle the driver's neck, a small seat 
being arranged just over the driver's head. The tank was of the 
smallest make, with not an inch of surplus space. The engine started, 
and say, that little old tank hopped over on its belly like a turtle 
and crawled out of the ditch as tho it was level ground. 

We all knew the drive was imminent and when the captain 
told of the tanks being up as far as the battery positions I knew it 
was only a question of hours before the big barrage would be on. 
From other remarks I heard I was certain the hour was to be before 
midnight. I went up toward the front during the afternoon and 
picked out a hill, the highest one for miles around. To the north lay 
a dead man's land for miles and miles and the old Hindenburg line 
ran thru it. Not a tree or a sign of habitation in all that stretch of 
country — not a wall standing — yet I knew there were hundreds of 
thousands of soldiers within range of my vision. And guns ! — thous- 
ands of them, all cunningly hid away in holes in the ground. The 
Boche kept up his habitual, desultory fire with scarcely a return 
from the Yanks. He didn't know of the thousands of guns that might 
have answered. They were waiting the hour. 

At nine o'clock or a little after a party of five of us drove to 
the foot of the hill and climbed to its top. It was pitch dark but the 
rain had stopped during the afternoon and the sky was quite clear. 
The moon was due at 10:30. We waited and waited. A few shells 
came over, bursting in our vicinity, but they didn't draw the cour- 
tesy of an answer. They were ignored completely. It was deathly 
still on our side, simply the creak and rumble of traffic for the re- 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 117 

serves were already coming up in the dark, crowding right on the 
heels of the organizations that were to start the drive ; and then 
there were the Allied planes beginning to be numerous on their way 
to bomb the enemy's back lines. 

Exactly at 10 :30, just like it said in the almanac, the moon peep- 
ed over the horizon. The heavens favored us in all preparations for 
this drive. Rain and cloudy skies stopped all observation of our 
movements in coming into this sector, and now the old moon came 
out in all his waning brightness just at the right time to show us 
the way. For five minutes as the moon's arc grew larger we could 
gradually make out the scene before us. A cloud passed over and 
when the moon came out of that ten minutes later the world lit up. 

The signalling flares and skyrockets started and run a course 
way down the line and for miles and miles to our left. We awoke 
to the fact that the drive was not to be confined to our salient. And 
then Hell tore loose ! 

There was a blur of shadows up ahead and around us, the re- 
serves hurrying up, but that was the only visible troop action I could 
see. My hair stood straight, and not from fear, in that stupendous 
display. The sky was lit up like day from the flash of the thous- 
ands of guns; and the noise was stupefying. 

The barrage started miles away to our left and came rapidly 
up the line, each battery taking it up in succession until all were 
in action — the 75 's up ahead, the 155 's around us — and the railroad 
guns behind, all belching shell on the enemy. It wasn't only for an 
hour or two, either, but continued all night long and all day, creep- 
ing just ahead of the advancing Infantry and tanks until the range 
became too great. Then the artillery moved up while the infantry 
held the line, and another barrage started. That operation continues. 

Reports, unofficial, keep coming back all the time but we do not 
know the extent of our successes. We can only judge from the num- 
ber of prisoners we see and of the total number only a small part 
pass along here. 

We hear of other Allied successes all along the front; of Allied 
victories in the Orient and wherever else there are enemy, even in 
Russia. We are doing our share and I can't see anything but the 
end, and I wish it would hurry up. 

Our ammunition train is about tuckered out. For three days 
and nights now the truck drivers have been on the go. I don't see 
how the men stand it. In pouring rain and pitch black nights they 



118 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

drive the loads of ammunition without lights of anj^ kind over roads 
deep in mud, where a civilian driver would halt in bright daylight. 
The way they follow the roads is almost uncanny. They have been 
out three days and nights now without sleep or a warm meal, not 
even hot coffee, only the "iron" rations. The worst part of all is 
the congested traffic. Roads are so bad and traffic so great that at 
times it takes two or three hours to make a kilometer. The drivers 
fall asleep when the column stops and awaken when it starts. 
Sometimes one sees a break of a hundred yards or so in the line — 
some driver failed to awaken when the colunui started. Our men are 
on the road all the time traveling from the dump or railroad to bat- 
tery positions. Thej' are in immediate danger the greater part of 
the time ; trucks are frequently hit by shell or shrapnel and some- 
times one is blown up. I verily believe our men to be the hardest 
worked in the army. 

In this "bois" where we are located is a camp formerly occupied 
by the French in which are barracks and numerous dugouts. There 
is a "Y, " a French canteen, a telephone office, a "bureau," poste des 
police," and a bathhouse, a complete cantonment according to the 
signs on the buildings, but it is a long time since these places Avere 
doing business. The buildings are dilapidated, every roof leaks and 
the place is overrun with rats; still it isn't half-bad — much better 
than any other place we could possibly find for miles around. 

Oui' headquarters detachment has a whole long barrack and 1 
have the office and my "bed" in one end. I have a stove, plenty of 
wood and best of all we can close up everything at night and have 
a light. We don't have to go to bed as soon as it gets dark. 

My first night here was far from being pleasant because I failed 
to take the rats into consideration when I made my bed. I set my 
Boche stretcher on the dirt floor, put straw under it to make it nice 
and dry and warm, fixed up that bed so that it was as comfortable 
as your own, altho maybe not as wide, and I was so tired. 

We started on ovir trip to this place one afternoon at 5 o'clock 
and traveled until 7 o'clock the next morning. This trip I traveled 
in the Major's closed car but at that it was cold and no chance to 
sleep. 

We laid up for the day but instead of putting up my tent and 
getting some sleep (it was raining) I took in the big town nearby. 
The next night and day was a repetition of the first 24 hours out and 
we pulled into this camp at 3 o'clock the morning of tlie third day. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 119 

i finished up tlie rest of that night on a truck and was up at day- 
light fixing up an office and spent the day catching up with my work. 
When night came and my bed made up I want to say I was ready for 
some sleep. 

I was so sleepy I was actually dizzy. I guess I just became un- 
conscious instead of "going to sleep.'' It w^as cold (I didn't have my 
stove yet) and my head was under the quilts. I suppose I was so 
tired I was restless and the back of my neck got uncovered. I awoke 
suffocating with my mouth and nose in the blankets as something 
"furry" with a long, cold tail, passed slowly over my exposed neck. 

Goodness knows, I was scared enough of Hun planes ; I have 
shivered, and froze my bare legs many a night under a truck when 
Hun planes came around and they made me sweat, as cold as I was, 
but I am more scared of one rat than of all the planes the Hun ever 
thought he was going to have. They simply make my flesh creep ! 

I let out one screech and left there ! I made the door, in the 
dark, in two seconds less than nothing and the cook house in noth- 
ing flat. There was a light in the kitchen and I met the guard at 
the door. He had been having his midnight lunch and had heard 
my gentle voice. He was almost as scared as I. 

We finally gathered up some candles and came back to the 
barracks. As near as we could figure it out in my leap from that 
bed to where I first lit — -from a prone position to where my heels 
struck the dirt floor — measured fourteen feet five inches, and I must 
have hurdled a table with a typewriter on top of it. I guess that 
will stand for awhile as an A.E.P. record and I would like to hear from 
any athletes that maj- be left in the States, if there are any that are 
not in the navy. 

I finished that night like the corpse at a wake — three brightly 
burning candles on each side of the bed — and the guard had instruc- 
tions to see that there were other candles in reserve. 

The next day I suspended my bed from the ceiling with four 
wires, like the old porch swing, and the rats have to do a tight-wire 
act to get at me. But it made them mad and the next night I could 
liear them hollering and squealing whenever I woke up. They ran 
all over the place, chewed up my "iron rations" (the three-day re- 
serve rations we carry— hard bread and "willy") gnawed a hole in 
my haversack and left a trail of chewed up paper on my table. A 
newspaper I had spread on the ground near my bed for a rug when 
I undressed they lugged off and tried to pull in a hole. But I got 



120 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

'em cheated now. Today I bought a eat for ten francs from the 

French kitchen and tonight I got that cat on a 12-foot string tied to 

the head of my bed. As we say in the army, I am "jake" now. 

* * * * 

13 October, 1918. 

Sitting here tonight in my little old "tin" shack-dugout con- 
templating this letter and listening to the fellows grouped around the 
little red-hot stove dope out the latest peace rumors, home seems 
very, very close. It actually seems "safe" to talk about home and 
the possibilities of seeing it once more. I am even trying to recollect 
how I formerly managed to keep my legs warm in civilian trousers. 

We are floating a couple of feet from the ground in a sea of 
optomistical rumors, fearful that they are only bubbles, and, 0, 
wanting so to believe them all. 

The Bulgarian rumor materialized : so did the one about the 
German peace note, and since then we believe almost everything we 
hear. We have heard that Hungary wants a separate hearing; then 
that Austria-Hungary wanted separate peace, and that Turkey 
would take the same; the kaiser "abdicated" yesterday and left ev- 
erything to Oscar; tonight this hot stove bunch of ours have the 
Germans voluntarily evacuating all Allied territory, and so it goes — 
foundation more or less substantial for all of it — with home just in 
the distance. 

It takes so long before we see a paper and get the official "pro- 
ceedings" that we have plenty of time to get into arguments over 
each new bit of news that comes along the line. 

Included in the "gang" around the stove tonight are, of course, 
both optomists and pessimists — those who are dead certain that we 
will be home for Christmas and those who think we will become an 
army of occupation in Germany for months, maybe years, after the 
war is over. The crowd is as varied in their opinions as they are in 
the states they hail from and call home. Our Headquarters outfit, 
tho small, is certainly cosmopolitan. At one time those of us in the 
outfit were all from Wisconsin. When the reorganization of the 
Division took place in Texas this Headquarters was much smaller 
than it is now and the men were all from Wisconsin. New tables of 
organization increased our personnel and to this day we are occasion- 
ally adding new men and are not yet quite up to authorized 
strength. Besides we have lost quite a number of the originals thru 
various causes and now there are only a very few of the old Wiscon- 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT l2l 

sin men left. I suppose that condition is niucli the same thruout the 
entire Division, altho not so noticeable as in our own little unit 
where we have men from all over the Union. 

Our first replacement was from Michigan and the next from 
North Dakota. We were still of the northern middle West. Then 
{hey came from Mississippi, Alabama, Virginia, Massachusetts, New 
York, Maine, Texas, Oregon, Washington and Montana. Then we 
have "Mike" from Potradelfo, Adona, Italy, and "Jimmy" from 
Athens, Greece — and we are less than thirty strong. Wisconsin pre- 
dominates but is a dinky majority. 

When any of our men, no matter Avhere they hail from, are 
asked, "Where's your outfit from?", it is always, "Wisconsin;" but 
whenever the bunch is alone and together, like tonight, right there 
is "wdiere one can find the darndest paroxysm of argument it is poss- 
ible to imagine. It's Wisconsin vs. Michigan; Wisconsin vs. North 
Dakota ; Wisconsin vs. California ; Wisconsin vs. New York or North 
Dakota ; Oregon vs. Texas ; Massacliusetts vs. California and Ala- 
bama vs. Mississippi, etc., etc. Just think of the awful possibilities 
for argument ! It has no end and can go indefinitely, which it does. 
There are two fellows from California, and when they get going at 
eacli other it is quite easy to understand why Hughes is not our war 
president. 

"What you-all want to go home fo' is mo'e than I can see," just 
struck me in the left ear. It came from Alabama directed towards 
G.H.G. or any other place north of Alabama. "Yo' all don' mean you 
wants me to construe yo' all cares to go back to them bli/zards and 
snow piles up no'th, does you? Yo' all aint got no home fitten to 
hanker after no-how. Now, me, I got a home what I calls a home to 
go back to. There's folks back in Alabama writtin' to me ev'ry day 
tellin' me — " 

He just went out of the door — rather forcibly, but out — and, 
disgustedly. "Can yo' beat it? That guy talking about a home! 
That Alabama cracker talking about folks writin' him letters! He 
never did have anything to eat 'til he got in the army and now he's 
talkin' about a home. He's got the best home right now he ever did 
have." All that from Alabama's next door neighbor, Mississippi. 

That wasn't all either, by any means. Listen to the rest of this 
from Mississippi. "Ah knows right where that boy comes from, an' 
Ah'm tellin' yo' the truth. Where he comes from there ain't no- 
body lives, not anybody a-tall. One time his father saAv a funny 



122 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

track in the back ya'd and didn't know what it was but he was 
mighty sii'e it was meat an' he got him his gun and some niggers 
and follered that track all day long. Along in the evenin' they 
comes on that critter and it's a man with shoes on. Yes sir, that's 
the truth, and that boy trying to tell me his folks writtiu' him 
letters." 

And that is a fair sample of our internal "feud." 

Every subject under the sun brings forth an argument, and such 
arguments! Such worldly-wise remarks and such wisdom! They 
know everything — when the war will end and that the President 
holds over while the country is at war, even if the war continues for 
twenty years. With the information available and the misinforma- 
tion obtainable this bunch can easily hold out on this "line" if it 
takes all winter. 

A couple of trucks just came from the front and the drivers 
were full up with the tale of the retreating Huns and how they were 
"evacuating." There is a bombardment going on that is as furious 
as a barrage and the door latch jingles continually from the vibra- 
tion, so we are somewhat skeptical regarding the "evacuation" when 
so much persuasion is being used. 

"Maybe," says someone to the returned drivers. "Maybe, you 
ought to hot-foot it back up there and slip the news to the artillery 
and infantr,y. They ought to know about it," 

"Lights Out!" 

This shack is just about light-tight and is bomb-proof but not 
fool-proof, so we can't take any chances on an opening door when 
the Hun is around so the candle went out at the guard's alarm. For 
nearly an hour we sat here by the light of our little heater while the 
Hun planes and the AA guns had a little skirmish. 

This shack is of corrugated, eighth-of-an-inch, sheet iron, half 
below the surface of the ground and is "bomb-proof" from splinters 
but not from a direct hit. It is the safest home I have had yet and 
this is just the stage of the game when I want to play it safe. Home 
seems so near and so certain itwould be putting it mildly to say that 
I would dislike extremely anything to happen now after going thru 
it all safely so far. 

Whether or not all this peace talk gets anything, I know this 
war cannot last much longer. With the German strength diminish- 
ing daily and new army corps coming from America every few days 
it simply can't go on. The Allies are sweeping everything before 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 123 

chem and even our division, beset by the stiffest resistance any army 
ever met, is making daily advances until we are almost in sight of 
the enemy's home land. 

This battle the division is now engaged in is entirely different 
from anything it has heretofore encountered. In other actions it 
always got them on the run and kept them just that way until re- 
lieved. This time we got them on the run again all right, but they 
fell back to defenses as seemingly unassailable as the old Hinden- 
burg line from where we started them. The fighting has been some- 
thing terrific. Our ammunition train is working day and night haul- 
ing shell of every description. The artillery has to practically dyna- 
mite the enemy from their holes of concrete and stone. In open war- 
fare the Hun hasn't a ghost of a show but embedded in concrete he 
is a difficult proposition ; and then there are the roads to consider. 

When an advance is started how far it travels is a matter of 
ammunition and supplies and it necessarily follows that the success 
of the advance depends upon the condition of the roads. No one 
knows better than the men of our ammunition train what roads 
mean. Ammunition must go forward even ahead of supplies. There 
were no roads for this advance to follow; roads had to be built as 
the advance was made. 

Maps and charts of this region four years old show a system of 
roadways which are now being uncovered and rebuilt. The old road- 
bed is found to be solid but pitted with shell holes. It is not a diffi- 
cult matter to repair them because they are of crushed and chipped 
stone and the sides of the holes are solid. The old system of road- 
ways during the last four years has been all shot to pieces and com- 
pletely covered up by the dirt thrown by bursting shell and in places 
one hole loops into the next one. 

I have mentioned before something of the destruction of war; I 
had seen the devastation wrought in the Soissons-Rheims sector, 
from Chateau-Thierry north to that line; the utter ravage of the 
Soissons-Noyen line in between the Aisne and Ailette and Oise, es- 
pecially in the drive on Javigny, and I had seen other places in the 
zone of advance; but all these were but "local disturbances" com- 
pared with this "dead man's land" thru which we are now pass- 
ing. Its extent is what makes it appalling and indescribable. 

Of course you know where the American army is fighting. The 
papers are full of it and our Division has even been mentioned, so I 
presume I can "get by'' with some little bit regarding localities. 



124 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

You have read during all these years of war a great deal about 
Verdun. We are not located near that wonderful ruin where "They 
shall not pass," but I have seen Verdun. When I am old and gray, 
and when, sometimes, I will think back to the time of the World 
War and my small part in it, one of my first thoughts, will be of 
Verdun. It will stand out as one of the most impressive pictures 
when those recollections came back of all I have seen over there. 

It maj^ be the weather affected my susceptibilities, darkening my 
impressions. It was late in the afternoon, a storm was gathering 
and the sky was overcast with the sinking sun casting strange col- 
ored rays thru the rifts in the darkening clouds. A hundred or 
more airplanes hovered above, swinging away and returning. 

Verdun was the home of a great many people in i3eace times. 
It was a large city, as cities go in France. I don't know what its 
population was but including environs I suppose nearly 30,000 peo- 
ple resided there. Not a civilian lives there now — not one — and it 
was almost deserted by soldiers, being too far away from the front 
for troops and not far enough away for safety. 

I saw one battalion of French infantry marching thru the town, 
saw the column as it was leaving thru the northern gate ; and I saw 
small groups of American soldiers, there being a few American out- 
fit headquarters in the town ; but aside from the French infantry all 
appeared to be just stragglers. 

I saw but three automobiles and of course they were military. 
I went from street to street from one side of town across the Meuse 
to the other side and traveled streets there and those three auto- 
mobiles were all the traffic I saw. Of the stragglers none belonged 
there, all were strangers like myself. 

Of course I asked questions, but they "didn't know" — had been 
there "only a couple of days." Nowhere could I find anybody that 
"belonged." 

I met a "Y" man and he was a stranger, but he told me a little 
about the town. He talked in a low tone as tho he, too, was im- 
pressed and depressed. He advised me to be sure and not miss the 
view from the top of the fortifications within the city. In that whole 
stretch of streets and avenues and boulevards I failed to find a 
single building which had entirely escaped shell or bomb. Some 
buildings appeared whole but inspection disclosed jagged holes some 
place. Hundreds of buildings and some beautiful structures were in 
complete ruin. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 125 

It had been a beautiful city, too, with its curving, narrow streets. 
The Meuse divides the city and another stream branches from the 
Meuse right in the heart of the town. 

This big deserted city, so quiet and still, with the planes above 
and the breaking storm, made me feel a dread as of impending dang- 
er and as I hurried back toward camp in the side-car, scurrying be- 
fore the storm, I felt as tho I was leaving behind a scene where some- 
thing fearful was about to happen, instead of a place where every- 
thing that could affect man's emotions had already taken place. 

* * # * 

14 October. 

Another night and I have a different home. Have a real cozy 
place now for the office and my "boudoir" and have a big fireplace 
that will burn most anything I can get lugged for it. This fireplace 
(IraAvs like it is intended a fireplace should and the smoke goes di- 
rectly up the chimney instead of going all over the house first as is 
the case with the majority of fireplaces I have seen. It's a nifty 
affair altho from appearances it would be called a pretty crude job. 

This is another "tin" house and the fireplace is of the same ma- 
terial; so is the roof. I have "beaucoup" wood, and it's raining 
and I don't care. All this place needs is electric lights and a bath- 
room and I would be "jake" once more. 0, about my bed. I still 
take my sleeps suspended. The rats are still with us and I had to 
turn my cat loose. She has a family to take care of now. I am giv- 
ing her a home still and have fixed up a place where she can bring 
up her children where they will get the very best of training. I'll 
do the fair thing with them as long as they stick by me. 

There is method other than being precautionary in this sus- 
pended bed of mine. It swings and sways, swings and sways, all 
night long. Its motion is exactly like on a rolling ship. Training is 
preparedness. I'll soon be in ship-shape for the trip back home. 

The real beautiful feature of this new home of mine is that I am 
the sole proprietor. Maybe it is only for a night or two but I am 
going to run this place just the way I want while I am here anyway. 
I'll have a little quiet and chance to form my own opinions about all 
this peace stuff'. The bunch tonight, in their own bailwick, are put- 
ting over an intellectual barrage — we received official reports today 
on Germany's acceptance of all the conditions of President Wilson's 
various presentations of requirements for peace. 

If an armistice should be declared soon, and I think it will, we 



126 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

are due for a long stay over here after that, the way I dope it out. 
It will require considerable time to settle each point in contention, 
and each condition will be found to be grounds for contention. It 
will take figuring to agree on the indemnity. The "costs in the 
case" are going to set the defendants back right smart. 

In the meantime no one around this neck of the woods is even 
imagining there is such a thing as peace in sight, judging from the 
battle going on Avhich appears to be growing more fierce with each 
passing day. There is no question of the "seriousness" of Ger 
many's intention of "evacuating" France. The Hun's only thought 
of France now is based on his fear that he won't be able to get out 

of here fast enough, 

# * # * 

24 October. 

Today, from early morning until after dark, I spent amid the 
scenes of the ruined area thru which our army has been fighting these 
last few weeks, I have seen so much havoc this day it seems useless 
to attempt details explaining the devastation. When this war is 
over and the nations of the earth are at peace once more France will 
retain across her bosom an evil, ugly scar that will not heal for years 
and years to come. 

I don't know to what use can be put some parts of that stretch 
of "no man's land" that reaches from the sea to Verdun and beyond. 
Its width varies as does its degree of devastation, I presume the 
thrifty French will reclaim the greater part of this great waste and 
in time it will again be tilled soil and growing crops with villages 
and cities here and there, but it will be a great many years after all 
that has taken place before the reclamation of this region is under- 
taken. 

Now it seems a hopeless task, an impossibility. I doubt if a 
great many of the cities and villages will ever be reb^^ilt. Their de- 
struction is so complete it would be more sensible and less work to 
choose a new site instead of trying to rebuild on the ruins. There is 
nothing left from Avhich to rebuild — nothing left that could be used 
for foundation — and only debris to clear away. Cities spring from 
the soil, but from soil that is fertile and virgin ; not from land that is 
pitted as from postules and eruptions, and ravished by Hun. 

Before me now is a memory of today, a memory of miles and 
miles of mud, shell holes, tree stumps with a few bare, jagged limbs, 
no underbrush scarcely in what had been a thick forest, lane after 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 12? 

iane of rusty entangled barbed wire cut up by high explosive shell, 
and here and there a dim outline between edges of shell holes of what 
had been an intricate system of trenches and underground homes for 
thousands of Hun. 

For three hours, two of daylight and one of dvisk, we traveled in 
an automobile at a snail's pace over a road built thru the worst of 
this area since the Hun left ; up hill and down hill, across valleys and 
Hcross level ground, and it was all the same. Each new mile the same 
as the mile before ; everywhere the same seas of mud, same shell holes 
and jagged tree trunks, same torn barbed wire, and just a continual 
wonder on my part of what France will do Avith that shamefully 
wounded and sick part of her. Will she hurridly try to hide it, 
bandage it, cover it from sight with her people and industries; or 
will she leave it as it is for Time who heals all wounds, leaving it for 
Civilization to come and view the fruits of German kulture? 

The road we traveled going up this morning was in good con- 
dition. Altho traffic was heavy we made good time. Then of a 
sudden the traffic became choked. We would go a few yards and 
then stop, then a few more yards and another stop and a wait. We 
had come to the line from where the drive started and where the 
enemy began wrecking the roads. 

"Danger — Unexploded Mine" read frequent signs near bridges 
and culverts. Hun plans, like those of mice and men, often go 
"flooey. " These unexploded mines evidently contain the same kind 
of explosive as ninety per cent of the German shell that are falling 
in a rather large city near here failing to burst. 

Negro Pioneer regiments were repairing the roads and there 
Were thousands of these brethren. I thought possibly the numerous 
colored gentlemen might be some more of our Algerian allies so I 
made a face at one and his face cracked with a smile and a, "Howdy, 
boss, ' ' that left no doubt of his ' ' nationality. ' ' These fellows are do- 
ing just as essential work as the Negro infantry regiments that are 
hitting the line here and there with a force that is always effective. 

Chinamen, all dolled up in U.S.A. clothes, were operating stone 
quarries and crushers along the road doing their bit supplying the 
Pioneers with material. I don't know anything about the "Chinks" 
qualifications as a fighting man, but he has a bad eye and a hard 
face. Give him a gun, some training, and make him realize the 
cause, turn him loose in the general direction of where there was 
formerly an Eastern front and I imagine he would stop any great 



128 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

exodus of Hun that may result when this "evacuation"' reaches its 
ultimate stage. 

I forget the exact number of Chinamen who have dugouts to the 
square mile back in their homeland. As I remember, it is enough so 
that in comparison a sardine has a roving disposition, but from the 
number of them I have seen in France there must be at least stand- 
ing room in China nowadays. 

Came to a roadway camouflaged by a high striped screen for 
more than a mile. We were within sight of the enemy who were 
evidently curious to know what was going on back of that palp- 
able disguise. Shells fell with uncomfortable frequency along that 
road. The actual "burst" of an exploding shell isn't so bad be- 
cause one knows he is safe after he hears the explosion, but it's the 
whistle of the shell and the momentary uncertainty of final destin- 
ation that at such times makes me look like a mighty sick man. 

Then we came to a cross roads near a rather large city, or what 
was left of the city, where at times shell fell with such German reg- 
ularity that traffic was safely gauged accordingly. A shell would 
break and while the dirt was still in the air a line of trucks would 
start across. The next block of traffic would wait until the next 
shell broke. 

Perched on a great height overlooking hills and valleys in ev- 
ery direction are a few stumps of stone walls marking the site of a 
city where 10,000 people once lived. Prominent in the wreckage is a 
jagged wall still distinguishable as the ruins of a church. It was 
from the steeple of this church that the Crown Prince not so very 
long ago watched the operations of his armies. In the steeple was a 
powerful telescope thru which he safely viewed his armies' successes, 
later their vicissitudes and finally their defeat and retreat. 

When the Hun was driven out of this city and beyond his ar- 
tillery concentrated its fire on the church. Thousands of shell were 
dropped in the city until it was completely destroyed. He shelled 
continually and terrifically until he finally brought down the church 
steeple. He realized the advantage of that steeple as an observation 
tower and was determined that no one else would make use of it. 

Shell continue to fall there and it is a very unsafe place to be. 
We have to use the roadway thru the city and he still keeps pound- 
ing away, fruitlessly the greater part of the time as a large percent- 
age of his shell are duds. I have heard the statement made that the 



THBU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 129 

shell he is using on this hill these last few days are 90 percent de- 
fective. 

This reminds me of one being told on a ''green" battery of 
ours, who did great work one whole half-day before someone sug- 
gested they insert fuse in the shell before firing them if they expected 
to help win the war. Think of hauling a whole lot of perfectly good 
ammunition over roads where a truck, sometimes, must be both sub- 
marine and tank, and then have some recent arrivals throw those 
shell away. 

All around in the vicinity of this great hill are the various forms 
of shelter used by the Grermans. Like the lookout posts of feudal 
days are the modern "pill-boxes" of concrete and located at the 
approach to more elaborate fortifications. Big gun emplacements 
have rooms jutting from the base in which the gunners lived. Dug- 
outs of every description, and deep. I descended thirty-five steps 
into one huge cellar which had wings with rooms off the "lobby" 
and could house several hundred "guests." All this place lacked 
was an elevator. One rather large house still in good condition and 
above ground had a huge cellar and a staircase leading from it. The 
stairway was used as an exit but not as an entrance. There were six 
chutes leading at a slant from the outside to this cellar. I thought 
these vv'ere air shafts but found they served a double purpose for 
the planked surface of these ventilators was as shiny and smooth as 
the seat of the trousers of tliat old blue serge suit, shovvdng how the 
Hun would slide into his hole when the shelling became too hot. 

In an immense heap of salvage in which was everything that goes 
to make an equipment of soldiers of three nationalities — United 
States, France and Germany— were several hundred German suits 
of armor. I had never seen them before. They are part of the equip 
nient of the Hun machine-gunner and consist of a sleeveless and 
backless jacket and a visor, or face protection, fitting over the liel- 
met. Jacket and visor are of the same material as the helmet. The 
jacket conies to the hips. The visor is attached to the side knobs of 
the helmet, has eye-holes and fits snugly to the jacket at the neck. 
The combination makes a complete protection for that part of the 
body most likely to be exposed in the machine-gun pit. As a pro- 
tection it is very effective too. The metal under certain conditions 
as to distance is bullet-proof or nearly so, and the contours of the 
protection are prominent, making the chances of tlie bullet ricochet- 
ing more than likely. 



130 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

I spent several hours around the battery positions where the out- 
going shell were as fearful with their noise as the incoming ones with 
their whistle and biirst. The comparatively general ineffectiveness of 
enemy artillery fire directed on our back lines, and his usual inability 
to find and do damage to our batteries, always seems strange to me. 
Hills and valleys, woods and plains covered with soldiers in pup 
tents and dugouts, all in plain view, and with numerous shell break- 
ing promiscuously it is fairly incomprehensble why it is seldom any- 
one gets hurt. It is the same thing with the bombing planes at 
night. 

The day was perfect for work in the air and there was much 
activity. For days it had been raining, obscuring all troop move- 
ments and changes going on back of the front lines. Today was so 
nice and clear it seeuied every plane in Europe was up "seeing what 
it could see," and a good many of them got into trouble. It was 
"fini la guerre" for many an aviator. 

My hat is always off to the Infantry and Machine Gun outfits 
whose deeds are so glorious day in and day out tliat one sometimes 
thinks that they are the whole show and is apt to forget the Ar- 
tillery. But the doughboy is so effectively composing tlie Hun's 
swan-song because he has such confidence in the Artillery. He 
knows that when things are getting too hot for liim ail he has to do 
is shoot a flare and he can rest a while. He knows a wall of shell-fire 
will promptly hold the line as efficiently as he could himself. 

The Infantry "goes in" for a few days and then "comes out;" 
maybe it comes out only to the second or third line, but anyway it at 
least gets a breathing spell before it goes in again. The Artillery 
squats down on a job and stays there for weeks, day in and day out 
and nights. Its only move is forward. It never falls back. Ours 
never has. And the crash of guns and rush of shell, and whistle of 
shell and nearby break, goes on and on day in and day out, and nights. 
Nerves must be of steel and hearts must be for a cause to endure. 
I don't believe there is any such thing as "getting used to it." 

Then the Infantry goes out for a rest in billets or barracks, 
maybe in a regular town, while the Artillery is attached to another 
division and staj^s on the job another three weeks. This latter sen- 
tence would be appreciated more by someone over in the Artillery 
than by you. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 131 

November 1st. 

This letter has been a forgotten part of my possessions for a 
week. We moved the day following my trip and I lost my home, 
and I had a home ! Iron roof, iron sides, a fireplace and a bed, far 
from the maddening Hun, and I lost it all. I lost my home, and los- 
ing it I felt as one does when the old homestead burns down or the 
villian forecloses the mortgage. I never appreciated that home any 
more than I do tonight. That WAS a home ! 

We have been playing one-night stands since and old man Ring- 
ling's six sons never moved their big top any swifter than we get 
away with ours. A paulin and any old kind of a location is our home 
now. We have been shelled and bombed from pillar to post until 
we have finally camped here in sheer despair. We refuse to move 
again until — tomorrow. 

The first night I slept on the north slope of a hill because it was 
the only available spot. There were two big guns a block away that 
fairly jarred me out of my bed about as often as I climbed back in 
it. From eight-thirty until midnight the Hun shelled the vicinity 
and the whistle of the missle had me praying for a just peace — for 
the Kaiser — and it was cold and wet. 

The next day to keep warm and for other reasons, I dug a hole 
in the rock and dirt and tree-roots of the hillside and set my bed in 
that two feet below the surface of the ground. Aside from the hole 
filling up with water that night was quite pleasant because of my 
peace of mind. A hole in the ground is far better than great riches 
in this neck of the woods. 

We moved the next day and that night I slept on a shelf, a ledge 
of sorts projecting from the face of a rocky hill. If I rolled about 
much in my sleep I would fain choose such a place for a habitual 
domicile because a sudden drop on to jagged rocks upsets me so. It 
v;as a fairly decent night. Shell whistled and broke but the Hun 
didn't know where I was I had located on the sunny side of that 
hill and his shell came from the north. I was somewhat disconcerted 
the next morning to learn that I had slept on the east side of that 
hill and not on the southern exposure, and that the valley before me 
was simply a groove for Hun shell. All that he has to do is shoot 
off his gun and the shell comes down the valley. We moved again 
so that was all right. 

Finally we landed here, and "here" is the remains of a town 
with very few "remains." Everything that looks like an old cellar, 



132 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

or dugout, or remaining wall was gobbled up a long time before 
Destiny led us this far. Engineers had started putting up a number 
of barracks and we grabbed off a couple of these before they were 
completed They are "jake" after our recent "tour," but this new 
construction work under the eye of enemy observation planes is 
simply an r-nvitation for night bombers. Last night was the worst cl 
a succession of bad nights. 

When I came to France, in that long, long ago, I was fully 
aware I had failed to bring with me a guarantee insuring a safe re- 
turn home. There were times after we finally reached the Front 
when I realized how little one life amounted to in this Maelstorm of 
warring humanity over here, and how simple a matter it would be 
should I be among those who pay. The longer I have been here the 
more that feeling has changed until now, when the end of the war is 
so near, it seems that nothing can possibly happen to prevent me 
from seeing home once more. Last night was hideous and my visions 
of home went glimmering in the distance more times than six. 

A flock of bombers came over early and as I hugged the cold 
dirt floor they dropped their loads. The flying dirt fell on the roof — 
that's how close they came. They didn't unload all together, either, 
but first one and then the other would open up his tail gate. Scared ! 
Say, my blood hasn't warmed up yet. 

Half an hour later another bunch came over and still later there 
was another swarm. These latter were returning from a raid on 
areas farther back and had but a few bombs left for us. To make us 
feel that we were not slighted they used their machine guns. 

With the little old Dove of Peace beginning to sprout a few tail 
feathers after a long and almost fatal moulting period the Hun con- 
tinues to give demonstrations of his more refined practices. Yester- 
day afternoon shell were breaking with great frequency just over 
the hill that protects us now. I went up the hill to see how close 
they were coming and found they were breaking around a field 
hospital a kilometer away. Just at dark as we were finishing our 
supper five or six Red Cross soldiers came to our kitchen after a 
"handout." They were from the hospital that has been shelled and 
had been forced to evacuate, patients and all. 

Our particular outfit continues to do business but not at the 
same old stand. As the Germans recede we follow and to get am- 
munition up to our continually advancing infantry and artillery re- 
quires work that at times is overcoming the impossible. How our 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 133 

equipment stands up is one of the wonders of the war to me, and is 
an illustration of what constant care and attention will do toward 
preserving machinery. To keep the outfit moving requires continual 
inspection and repair. The work required to keep that equipment 
at the required standard is as deserving of commendation as the feats 
of action performed in the fighting line. Would you rather carry a 
gun and fire back at the enemy or drive a truck and face his shell 
unarmed? Of course our men are not continually at the front, but 
then the hauling of ammunition is not their entire job by any means. 
Besides their hazards our men must work. When the weekly inspec- 
tion is made every vehicle must not only roll, but must appear as tho 
it had been out of the factory but a short time. It is some job to 
keep equipment in that condition. 

The remarkable fact I am trying to lead up to is that we still 
have the same trucks with which we rolled across France when we 
'.vent to the front months ago. Every vehicle still does its duty as 
religiously as a "Henry" and with less rattle. 



CHAPTER X. 

Those Last Few Days and Nights in Very — '*Finis 
le Guerre" — Negro Pioneer in a Tree — Bois de 
Placy — ^When Do We Go Home? — Deloused 
Again — Metz and "Beaucoup" Souvenirs — 
Forgotten? — Cruel, Cruel War — Russian Poles 
of Bois de Nixeville — Bar le Due Horse Meat — 
The Move at Last — The Gondrecourt Area and 
Still Plenty of Work. 

DURING the last few days of the war the Train was engagetl 
principally in hauling empty shell back to the dump at Char- 
pentry from along the roadways in the advanced areas and 
from the old battery positions. Company C continued hauling small 
arms ammunition. The 57th Brigade was pretty well battered up 
and without horses and it fell to the Train with its numerous crip- 
pled trucks to move the artillery back from the front to the Bois de 
Bethlainville. When the job was finished on November 9 Companies 
B and C were attached to the 158th Field Artillery Brigade which 
was backing the 32nd Division infantry. The divisional infantry 
after being in reserve went in the front line at Dun-sur-Meuse, east 
of the Meuse, on November 8. 

The 10th of November was spent in preparing for the move back 
from the front. The Train was completely played out and the equip- 
ment was racked to pieces. The morning of the 11th, Train Head- 
quarters, Headquarters and Companies A and D of the Motor Bat- 
talion went back to Rampont Woods, with "Fini le guerre" being 
shouted from every truck or group of Frenchmen which was met. 
In the midst of all the rejoicing Captain Nelson of Company C was 
encountered along the roadway and he was the only person in all 
that morning's trip who was not jubilant. His automobile had been 
smashed when run into by a French camion the night before in the 
dark, and among the captain's injuries were a munber of teeth 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 135 

broken squarely off at the gums, making life extremely miserable 
for him that day and for many days to come. 

In the Bois de Compte the Horsed Battalion turned over a great 
many of its horses to the Third Army a couple of days after the 
Armistice, and then spent the rest of a long dreary period in caring 
for equipment, drilling and waiting for orders to move back to some 
less desolate region. It was a long, long wait for all concerned. 
Rations, wood and forage M^ere hauled for the brigade for six long 
weeks until the move was made back to the Gondrecourt area just 
a couple of days before Christmas. The Motor Battalion and Train 
Headquarters found a home in Villeroy while the Horsed Battalion 
were billeted at Gerauvilliers, about four kilometers from Gondre- 
court. The trip from Rampont to the Gondrecourt area was 106 
kilometers. 

No matter where the Train moved to there was always plenty 
of work and the few weeks witli the 88th Division were no excei^- 
tiou. Besides policing the towns to make them fit to live in there 
were numerous details hauling men from regiments of the brigade 
to the ammunition dump at Mauvages, wood and ration details, in 
fact, there was so much work there were insufficient trucks in the 
Motor Battalion and a dozen trucks were assigned from the 313tli 
Ammunition Train. Captain Hill made a trip to Dijon with half his 
company after motor equipment for the brigade. Lieut. Foizie 
went up to Toul with another detail after supplies. Men were sent 
to gas schools at Joirc. There were really more details than when 
tlie war was on. 

On January 6 Major Imhoff, who had been on leave since before 
Christmas, was injured severely in a motorcycle accident at Gondre- 
court when about to start for Villeroy and was taken to the hospital. 
Captain Dayton was placed in command of the Motor Battalion. 
While at Bois de Placy, Captain Leach of the Ordnance Department 
was placed in charge of the Enlisted Ordnance Personnel. 

All motor equipment and whatever the Horsed Battalion had left 
in the way of equipment was turned over to the 313th Ammunition 
Train on elanuary 11 and the Train relieved from further duty vrith 
the 88th Division. Orders had been received sending the Train bad: 
to the 32nd Division. The Train left for Coblenz, Germany, tho 
morning of Januarv 14. 



136 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

Bois de Placy, Bar-le-Duc, France, 11 November, 1918. 

The place and the date mark the birth of a new era, and we 
were "in at the death" of the old. It is "fini la guerre" and we 
were at the front when it ended. 

We are back quite a distance from the line tonight— and the 
lights! Just came in from outside and "outside" looks like another 
world, a place to which I am not accustomed because of the lights. 
Every shack, barrack and dugout is lit up like an excursion steamer, 
or like some of these soldiers will be their first night in "civics" back 
in the U.S.A. 

It is good to be alive tonight, to know that one has been through 
it and it is all over. Would like to celebrate tonight. Would like to 
be in Paris, or London, or New York. My, but I'll bet there are 
s-o-m-e doings. While I am wishing I may as well make it a good 
one, so, wish I were back home tonight. It's tough, but I can't 
celebrate. There isn't even a pump within three miles. 

However, there are more ways than one of celebrating. What 
to me will constitute a regular blow-out to you may seem rather 
tame. My celebration tonight will consist of a sleep like that of the 
just and the righteously safe. I am going to bed and simply wallow 
around among the blankets without a fear of whistling shell or of 
the drone of a Hun motor. It is great to feel perfectly safe. Since 
last July we have spent just one week where we felt we were en- 
tirely beyond the reach of the Hun's tentacles. 

Tonight the only guns we hear are announcing joy — "feu de 
joie, " the French express it-^but even last night there was death 
in the air. Even this morning men of one of our companies were 
under heavy shell fire and were compelled to abandon their trucks 
for a time. 

Three nights ago, when we were certain the end of the war was 
a matter of hours, a Hun plane came over and dropped a few too 
close for comfort. This fellow came as close as any of them ever did. 

Around the stove that night the conversation consisted entirely 
of speculations as to when we Avould be sent home. An enemy's 
plane was the farthest thing from our thoughts and when we heard 
the motor we refused to believe it a Hun's. He was right on us be- 
fore we realized we were in for another night of it. 

He went up our valley and came back, then went up and came 
back again. I don't know where he carried all the "eggs" he 
dropped. Twice he missed our shack by a matter of seconds, and 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 137 

you have no idea of the length of a second until awaiting a bomb to 
drop. None of his hits were more than a half-mile away. 

That night after it was all over I w^ent across the road to a 
spring after a canteen of water. I needed a drink. The spring is 
located under a hill and the path leading to it is difficult to follow in 
the dark so I carried a flash-light. It was merely the "flash" I used 
and that covered by my hand. 

I used the light sparingly, but when near the spring I heard a 
harsh whisper commanding, "Put out dat light!" 

Startled, I involuntarily switched the light in an are. 

"Fo' God's sake, boss, put out dat light," imploringly came out 
of the air, from the hill, I thought. 

I recognized a Negro Pioneer. 

"What's wrong, boy?" I asked. 

"Is he gone, boss?" 

"Sure he's gone. He laid his eggs and has gone home to roost. 
Come dow^n out of your hole." 

"Ah ain't in no hole." 

"Well, come down then. You don't have to stay on that hill all 
night. He's gone. It's safe," I reassured him. 

"Ah ain't on no hill." 

"Ain't on the hill? Where are you then?" 

"Ah'm in dis tree." 

"In a tree! For Pete's sake! — what are you doing up a tree?" 

Personally I have picked about every place but a tree. I have 
crawled in holes of every description, laid flat in mud, sought shelter 
where I found it, as I found it, when occasion demanded, and I have 
seen others do likewise, lots of times, but never before did I see or 
hear of anyone climbing a tree to get aw^ay from a shell or bomb. 

"Ah '11 tell yo', boss. Ah don' wan' ma mammy to lose her boy, 
no suh." Then, reflectively, "Dem Bushes sure do make a heap o' 
trubbel fo' us soljers, doan' dey? Reckon he's comin' back?" 

As I filled my canteen the dusky Pioneer scrambled down the 
tree and over to the spring for a drink. I asked him where he got the 
idea of climbing a tree to get away from a bomb, and didn't he know 
that a tree was the very worst place he could find when a "Bush'' was 
around? I asked him if he didn't know a bursting bomb threw 
shell splinters right up in the branches of a tree, and that there was 
about as much sense in climbing a tree to get away from a bomb as 
there would be in a nigger spitting in a sheriff's face. 



138 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

''Ah doan' know, boss," he ruminated, "Ah spec's yo'all am 
kee-rect, but Ah jus' natu'ally gets me in a tree when Ah's in trub- 
bel. Dis a 'my am nuthin' but trubbel. Ah neve' had no trubbel be- 
for' dis wa, ' and if Ah eve' gits back dere aint a-goin' to be nuthin" 
dat'll eve' trubbel me ag'in." 

The day of the bomber is over. He has had his day, and his 
night. We have not received official notification of the armistice 
being signed. We have not seen a newspaper or communiques today, 
but other visual evidence we have in abundance. "Fini la Guerre," 
chalked on sides of trucks and yelled by every Frenchman we met 
would be sufficient to convince us, but the cheers and beaming faces 
leave not a question of a doubt. The lights and bonfires tonight, in 
a land where they formerly meant only trouble, are the final proof. 

For days we had been in suspense. One night (November 7) a 
"false alarm" started a celebration which extended from the front 
to the S.O.S., or from the S.O.S. to the Front, depending on where 
it started. The celebration was somewhat premature and fortunately 
fooled the square-heads as well as ourselves, but it M^as a great dis- 
appointment the next morning to learn it was without foundation. 
The display of lights that night made a great target for the Hun but 
for once he failed to take advantage of them, no doubt believing the 
occasion to be founded on facts of which he was in ignorance. 

Altho we were in a state of uncertainty we were quite confident 
of the end and knew that eventually there could be but one result, 
but, at that, we were suspicious to the last. There was always a 
possibility of the Kaiser having an "ace in the hole." It didn't seem 
possible that he would give up everything. We did not know of the 
seriousness of conditions in Germany. The whole rotten monarchy 
went to pieces in a minute. We did not realize how really rotten it 
was. Just the day before the German plenipotentiaries came over I 
heard a Hun prisoner telling an American, "America will never lick 
Germany. ' ' 

Now that it is all over but the shouting the great question is : 
' ' When do we go home ? ' ' The air is thick with rumors. The ' ' cootie 
wireless" is working overtime. We do and we don't, belong to the 
army of occupation. We won't be home before next summer. We 
leave for home next month. The ship we sail on is tied up at the 
wharf at St. Nazairre. There must be an organization some place 
over here whose sole function is to distribute unofficial information. 

My opinion is that our Division will be one of the first to go 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 139 

back home. We were among the first over here and are willing to 
be the first over there. I do not believe that a Division that fought 
so hard, so long and so efficiently as the Thirty-Second will be com- 
pelled to remain here and do "chores" for the French. 

It is no more than fair to expect that the old National Guard 
divisions will be sent home first. The Regulars are soldiers by pro- 
fession; they would be expected to remain. Some of the N.A. div- 
isions have been here for quite a lengthy period and have done great 
work, while others never heard the road of the guns, and it would be 
expected that these latter would want a chance in the army of occu- 
pation. The technical units are needed here to help rebuild France. 

But the National Guard, the N. G., the "militia," the old No 

Good sons-of-guns, who didn't know a thing about soldiering, who 

were neither soldiers nor selects, who didn't do a thing over here but 

fight like fighting fools, t-h-e-y are expecting to go home like they 

came over — by volunteering, and just as willingly. 

* * * * 

13 November. 

Was in Verdun today, my second visit there. On the previous 
occasion shell, still, occasionally dropped there and bombing planes 
were nightly raiders. At that time the streets were nearly deserted 
and I distinctly remember the clatter of my hob-nailed shoes on the 
city pavement. 

Today the streets were thronged with soldiers, officers, Red 
Cross nurses and civilians. I saluted at least a dozen automobiles 
bearing the star or stars of generals. I visited the cathedral and the 
College of Marguerite, the latter an annex of the cathedral. The old 
edifice survived thru the four-year siege. It bears the sears of shell 
and bombs but is quite well preserved. The vandals never reached 
it to pillage. There remain but a few of the old treasurers for the 
visitor to admire, nearly everything of value that could be removed 
having been placed in safety at the beginning of the war. 

We drove thru the city, across the Meuse, and east until we 
came to the trenches — deserted. The roads were very poor, practi- 
cally impassable for an automobile. We got out of the car and walk- 
ed across the ' ' dead man 's land ' ' to the German trenches. They were 
stripped and deserted, but, as is usual with German trenches, they 
were fitted up for comfort. 

We walked along the old trenches and barbed wire to another 
road which had been repaired so that a passage for cars was poss- 



140 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

ible. I saw fully two hundred American ambulances, all nicely 
washed and cleaned up, on their way into Germany. There was 
column after column of American soldiers along the road on their 
way to the Rhine. 

My greatest ambition these last two years or more has been to 
march to the Rhine, but today I was glad I was not headed in that 
direction. My ambition these days is to march down the main stem 
of the old home town. 

Returning to Verdun we cut across to a more northern roadway 
and there enctountered other strings of marching men. These how- 
ever, lacked the pep, altho the more joyful. There were streams of 
them and they were coming out of Germany. They were the return- 
ing prisoners just liberated. 

They were in rags and tags and beggars' gowns, the most em- 
aciated lot of humanity I ever imagined. They were coming out of 
hell, and were happy. Those poor, pitable souls. The day was bit- 
ing cold and they were half clad. Bare legs were exposed between 
the ragged shoe tops and the breeches' bottoms. They were tired and 

weak, straggling on. 

* • • • 

14 November. 

I'm stuck — mentally mired. I'm off this dope sheet stuff for 
life. I'm done figuring. I am thru trying to put two and two to- 
gether to make six or seven, or even five. Hereafter I believe only 
what is handed out by G.H. Q. 

From sources I thought as reliable as the almanac I heard we 
were not to be in the army of occupation, and now I understand we 
are. I planned and figured until I was blue in the face and now it 
is all shot to pieces. 

I had it all doped out that the National Guard outfits would go 
home first, and now they tell me married men will be first and that 
some form of registration will determine the order in which the 
rest of us will be sent back; that those go first whose services are 
most needed over there. According to that I'll die of old age over 
here. I'm S.O.L. for fair. 

Here I am all heated up when I ought to be perfectly calm and 
happy. I went thru the delousing station today. 

Have you ever been thru a delousing station? You haven't? 
Well, you most certainly have missed a great pleasure. 

It is exhilarating, to say the least; but, still, it is sad. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 141 

It is sad to part with friends of months ; friends who have stuck 
to you closer than a brother ; comrades. Friends who were with you 
thru thick and thin, thru shot and shell, thru feast and famine ; 
friends for whom you have cheerfully worn out your fingernails. 

This "delousing station," or "pediculus terminal," is a disen- 
fecting plarit for humans. The process is bloodless and practically 
painless, and lice are really a ny-product It gets 'em all — fleas. S'^am 
squirrels, pants rabbits, fire flies, bedbugs, or whatever seems to be 
the trouble. 

These cootie factories are quite plentiful over here. They are a 
result of the war and doing big business. I never saw one in opera- 
tion over there, except on a very small scale, and I believe there is 
an opening for some wide-awake towns back home to get in on this 
before they become as plentiful as picture shows. I am sure it would 
go great. I actualy believe there are millions in it. The initial cost 
is small and the upkeep is negligible. The returning soldirs would 
make it a mint. They all have the habit and will be lost without 
their cootie casino. 

Just as an illustration of what one of these institutions will do 
for a town I will cite the case of the village we patronize. 

Previous to the institution of a delousing station it was the de- 
serted village, populated by scarcely a hundred souls, content in their 
simple life, who wot not of the prosperity in store for them. 

Today there were 900 transients in that town, all with money in 
their pockets and trying to spend it. The station handles 100 an 
hour and works nine hours a day. Every day is the same. Business 
is booming; stocks in stores are depleted before the owners have a 

chance to get the goods on the shelves. 

* * • • 

26 November. 

Yesterday, Sunday, I had the surprise of my life. I spent the 
entire day over in Lorraine, and in Metz I found a city that fairly 
took my breath away. 

My impression was that Germany was destitute and her people 
starving; instead, I found in Metz conditions apparently more pros- 
perous than in any place I have been in France. 

Metz appeared to me like a thriving and up-to-date city in the 
United States. Fine, wide, clean streets; nice buildings; shop win- 
dows displaying everything to be found in any city anywhere; hard- 
ware stores, groceries, dry goods stores, shoe stores, all doing busi- 



142 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

ness with stocked shelves and the finest kind of goods. Meat markets, 
bakeries and confectionaries operating as tho there had never been 
a war. 

Streets were crowded with people, principally civilians, but some 
French soldiers and German soldiers and an occasional American sol- 
dier, the latter mostly otficers. The French are occupying Lorraine 
and Americans have no business there, in fact, our party was invit- 
ed to leave town after the M.P. discovered we were without a pass 
from G.H.Q. We didn't leave; not until we were good and ready. 

Had dinner for eight marks in a real restaurant. We ate at the 
Metropole. My last real dinner had been in the Metropole in New 
York city nearly ten months ago. I had a tenderloin steak— a nice, 
thick, juicy one — fried potatoes, other vegetables, good bread but no 
butter, a salad of some sort, and a pudding with a delightful sauce. 

Memory of the "sauce" reminds me that just about any kind 
of liquor that ordinarily adorns a first-class back-bar can be had in 
Metz ; and that beer is served just as you have always heard it is 
served in Germany. 

I am not going to attempt to explain this apparent prosperity 
in Metz. I am without an explanation. Possibly the border towns 
frequented by German soldiers were kept up for purposes of morale. 
I don't know. I am merely relating what I saw in Metz. I have no 
idea of actual conditions in interior Germany other than that we 
were told by a hotel keeper of Metz that he had traveled consider- 
ably quite recently and had not noticed any great difi^erence any- 
where. 

The captain whom I was with speaks German slightly. There 
were two sergeants besides myself in the party. We encountered a 
resident of the city who was anxious to meet Americans. He had not 
heard from his brother in Brooklyn for four years and was filled with 
anxiety as to his brother's fate, believing him at least imprisoned, 
and probably worse had befallen him, the old man believed. 

The wife of our companion lived in New York several years and 
spoke English quite well, so he insisted that we visit his home. 

He owned and operated a foundry and had lived in Metz, or at 
least in Lorraine, previous to 1870 and almost continuously since. 
French air raiders had dropped a bomb on his factory; French offic- 
ers, Sunday, were making an inventory of his factory and other 
property. 

He and the French officers did not act in the least like long-lost 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 143 

brothers. Their conversation, eliminating the gestures which strict- 
ly belong, went something like this: 

Lorraine Manufacturer—' ' You don 't lose much time to. come and 
figure your assessments." 

French Officer — "To the victor belongs the spoils." 

L. M. — "Then why don't the Americans come?" 

F. 0. — "WE are the conquerors." 

L. M. — "To h — 1 you are! It was the Americans that did it." 

They were as friendly as the ordinary cat and dog, those long- 
separated ' ' brothers. ' ' 

In all the places we visited about the city that day the feeling 
between the residents of Lorraine and French soldiers was about the 
same as that depicted in the above conversation. "Why don't the 
Americans take Lorraine?" we were seriously asked a dozen times 
that day. 

The American is the hero. Between the German and tlie French, 
between the German and the British, and even between the French 
and the British, there is that same contemptous opinion of the otlier's 
qualification, borne, no doubt, thru years of familarity over the "back 
yard fence." The American, however, is still an unknown quantity. 
No one knows how far he might go if he were forced to the limit. He 
went so far in such a short time they can't quite "get it." It is he 
who has the superinan reputation now. 

We acquired a load of souverirs — some we bought, others were 
thrust upon us. A Prussian Guard gave me his cap and a few other 
things. He had "discharged" himself from the army by the simple 
process of changing to civilian clothes and wanted to give me his 
discarded outfit. I picked up a spiked helmet, a "Gott Mit Uns" 
(brass) belt, an "Iron Cross," a few other "ornaments" and all the 
"hardware" I could lug. I got a knife for which any old deer hunt- 
er would swap his rifle. 

It is quite trick, and one in which I am least adept, hanging on 
to this "ordnance" of mine when the fellows are offering 200 francs 
for the helmet, a hundred for the Iron Cross, anything I may ask for 
the knife, and so on. 

This matter of my possessions has really developed into a ques- 
tion of "wealth," and a possible seven-day leave, or "souvenirs." 
I am afraid I will fall — a ways anyway. If I could get back to the 
S.O.S. with all my junk I might become independently rich. Back 
there where Hun helmets are a novelty one that is decently camou- 



144 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

flaged brings as much as a hundred francs. German souvenirs are 
like ice — valuation depends on location. 

But to get back to Metz. 

Saw the Kaiser's statue and the statue of Fredrich the First as 
they lay where they had been thrown to the ground. Upon the entry 
of the French into the city the statue of the Kaiser had been 
lassoed and tumbled off its pedestal. The same thing had happened 
to "Fredrich." We took in the parks and also drove out into the 
country, and visited the "Kathedrale" of Metz. 

Most striking and beautiful of all we saw was the holiday attire 
of the younger female population in their Lorraine costumes. This 
odd dress consists of a lace and silk w^hite cap with slippers and 
stockings of the same color; a plaid or striped silk skirt and a waist 
just as brilliant tho of different patterned silk. Over this is worn a 
gaudy silk shawl and an apron of possibly a solid color but just as 
rich. The combination makes the rainbow look like a shroud and 
streets thronged with girls wearing their native dress are beautifully 
fascinating scenes. 

We had supper, too, in Metz, the old foundryman remaining with 
us, quite elated over our assurances that his brother was as free as 
we. The brother, Henry, is 29 years old and in the United States ten 
years or so. We told the old man that Henry no doubt, a citizen of 
our great country, was probably over here someplace one of the sev- 
eral million Americans who licked the Kaiser. The old man said, 
"Dot's goot." He wasn't unconditionally pro-German either. 

Neither the foundryman, nor the hotel proprietor, whom we in- 
vited to our table, and who could talk a sort of two percent English, 
could quite understand how it was that the captain, an officer, was 
associating with the common herd, we sergeants. I think we still 
further befuddled them by explaining that the not infrequent asso- 
ciation of officers and enlisted men was merely another of the de- 
mocratic fancies of Americans who want everything in the world 
democratic, even Germany. Then the hotel man wanted to know, 
"Vot iss dis, 'demogratic?' " It seems our "making the world safe 
for democracy" didn't quite percolate as far as Metz. The enlight- 
ening period is yet to come, and I pity the poor fish that attempt it. 

We had a nice time at our dinner party, remaining longer than 
we intended, and had a hard job getting home. The lights on the car 
refused to work and it took nearly half the night before we reached 
Verdun. It began to rain about the time we left and it was imposs- 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 145 

ible to do any speeding over the slippery roads without lights. We 
found that out after we tipped over in a ditch, spilling ourselves and 
our souvenirs into the mud. 

In the morning on our way to Metz the weather was very nice 
and the trip very, very interesting. The forty-odd miles from Ver- 
dun to Metz is a trip worth taking. From France's impregnable 
stronghold, in ruins, to the forts and the thriving city of Metz — from 
the Meuse to the Moselle — across that stretch of Woevre and Lor- 
raine, every degree of war's devastation is shown. 

We traveled via Etain, Buzy and Conflans. Etain, about 12 kil- 
ometers from Verdun, is in ruins. The entire country for that dis- 
tance is nothing but great hills and valleys and a scene of gun em- 
placements and trenches. The south side of the roadway from Etain 
to within a few miles of Metz is protected by a screen of German 
camouflage. Conflans, deserted save by soldiers, is marked but little, 
having escaped destruction. Beyond to Metz is beautiful, rolling 
country without a scar. Pretty villages nestle deep down in wind- 
ing valleys and peaceful tilled land on all sides gives one the im- 
pression that the country he has just passed thru is but the memory 
of an unpleasant dream. 

The camp of our ammunition train is in the Bois des Placy. near 
the village of Rampont. You would undoubtedly be unable to And 
either place on the map and I wish neither place was on the map or 
the face of the earth long enough at least, for us to get out of here. 
We are about fifteen kilometers southwest of Verdiui. We moved 
here the day the armistice was signed and have been here since, ex- 
pecting an order to move at any time. The days are dreary. For a 
few days following November 11th the sun shone brightly, but now 
it rains every day. 

This is the most desolate country in the world, hereabouts. Far- 
ther up toward the old front there is the excitement of passing sol- 
diers and prisoners and traffic, but there is absolutely nothing to do 
or see here. All we can do is wait. We haven't an idea of what is 
going to happen to us. 

The 32nd Division infantry, east of the Meuse when the armis- 
tice was signed, is in the army of occupation and on the way to the 
Rhine now. We are not in anything as far as I can determine. I 
believed at first we would be sent back to civilization someplace, but 
instead we are left in the mud in a woods, probably forgotten en- 



146 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

tirely. If something like a move order doesn't materalize within the 

next week I know I'll have a fit, or something worse. 

Had not the brigade equipment been all shot to pieces when the 

war ended we might have gone along with the rest of our division. 

I wish we could have gone to the Rhine as long as we can't go home. 

« * * * 

14 December. 

This is getting to be a cruel, cruel war. It grows more terrible 
with each passing day that we are to remain in this darned woods. I 
fail to recollect a period as unsatisfactory as the time I have spent 
since the armistice was signed. In the old days it may not have been 
any great pleasure, but, we, at least, never suffered from ennui. 

Since the memorable 11th our outfit has remained camped in this 
woods — in the mud — not knowing what is to become of it, or what 
is on the mind of the powers that be regarding it. I suspect they 
want to get rid of us but don't know exactly how to go about it. 

I've got so that I run around in the woods climbing trees look- 
ing for nuts, and the sight of a man with a gun scares me. Some way 
I managed to get thru Friday the 13th without getting bit. I wonder 
how long a person can stand this sort of thing without going daft 
completely. 

It rains, rains, rains. We must stand reveille and retreat (we are 
in the army again) when it isn't raining, reveille at 6 :15 a.m. and re- 
treat at 4 in the afternoon. It rains all night long and lets up in the 
morning just long enough to beat us out of another hour's sleep. 
Then it starts in again and holds forth until time for retreat when we 
have a dry overhead interval of fifteen minutes. 

Once upon a time there was a man in the S.O.S., or someplace, 
who burst forth with the astonishing statement that the reason it 
rained so much in France was because of the continued heavy firing 
of guns, reasoning, I presume, along the line of the old rain-makers 
out in Iowa. He was correct in his prodigious wisdom only to a cer- 
tain extent. He went a little too far. He should have quit talking 
when he said that the reason it rains so much in France is because. 

We are fighting the worst part of the war right noM^ This con- 
tinual waiting for something to turn up is just a little too much. 
We are due to leave here in a few days for the Gondrecourt area, south- 
eastofBar-le-Duc. Our train will be billeted in Villeroy. The rest of 
the brigade will be in the same area, the 120th F.A., at Badonvillers, 
and the 121st F.A., at Rosieres. This move to Gondrecourt means 



THEU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 147 

one of two things — either we go home or into Germany — and if my 
wishes are considered it will not be Germany. We join the 88th 
Division when we move. 

The 88th is just one more division to add to our list of acquaint- 
ances. During our service at the front our ammunition train fought 
in twelve different divisions and was attached at different times to 
sixteen divisions. We have been with the 3rd, 32nd, 40th, 41st, 79th, 
88th, 89th, and others; also with First Army artillery, Fifth Corps 
artillery and 158th Artillery brigade. 

We have been connected with so many different outfits that 
sometimes we don't know where we belong, and the present is one of 
the times. We were always with the 32nd when the home division 
was working but when they rested, or were out of the line, we were 
recuperated by a change of environments — attached to some other 
division that was just going in. 

We saw many divisions in action, saw them when they went in 
and when they came out, and our little outfit, within its borders, 
acted as critic on their advance and sometimes on their ineffective- 
ness when they failed to make their objectives on schedule. It was 
then we compared the particular division to the 32nd and told each 
other what the 32nd would have done had it been in line. We had 
all the confidence in the world in our division. It never failed. 

That our pride is justifiable is evidenced in many documents, 
commendations from the Commander-in-Chief, from an army com- 
mander, a corps commander and from commanders of other divisions. 

In the Bois de Nixeville, near here, is a large camp of Russian- 
Poles who were prisoners in Germany when the armistice was signed. 
When released 4,000 of these men were brought to Nixeville and 
46,000 others were placed in other camps hereabouts. They will not 
be returned to their home land until conditions there become more 
settled. It would not be practicable to allow this unorganized horde 
to roam free about France so they are confined to these camps under 
French guards. They resent the guards, the treatment and the food, 
and assert they were treated better when prisoners in Germany. 

I walked over to the Nixeville camp the other afternoon with "An- 
drew," of our medical detachment, a Russian-Pole who left his wife 
in Poland in 1914 and went to America intending she should follow 
as quickly as he could make the necessary arrangements. The war 
interfered with his plans and he never heard from his wife again. 



148 THRU THE WAE WITH OUR OUTFIT 

When the United States entered the war Andrew enlisted in the Med- 
ical Corps. 

In Poland he had been druggist apprentice and in our country he 
continued in similar work. He knows considerable about medicine, has 
learned our language, is studious and will be a doctor some day. In 
the various aches and pains I have conceived during the months 
since our camp in Texas, it has always been to Andrew that I turned 
for more or less immediate relief. His various colored pills have al- 
ways had the desired effect, hence my positiveness regarding his 
future. 

He talked with his countrymen and they spread his inquiries all 
about the camp but from none of those men could he learn any news 
of his wdfe. The great majority of them were gathered in when the 
Hun overrun Poland in the early days of the war. They refused to 
fight for Germany so were held as prisoners, forced to do what work 
the Hun decreed. 

Andrew found several men whom he personally knew — men 
from his old home town — and they told him only what he already 
knew, that she was with her people the last they had seen of her, but 
what had befallen her when the Huns arrived none could tell him, 
beyond the statement that "the Boche took all the women." 

Those 4,000 Poles wandering about their camp in the mud, or 
lying around in their barracks, were nearly all big healthy looking 
men, with the exception of their feet. Bunks in the barracks were 
occupied by men with bandaged feet. Their greatest hardship while 
in the German prison camps had been lack of shoes and in many 
instances feet had become blistered and raw. One man told us that 
many of them had been without shoes for nearly four years and had 
wrapped their feet with whatever castoff clothing they could find. 
They were all hungry, and had been hungry so long it was a habit, 
I guess, because the French ration, which ordinarily is sufficient if 
not an abundance, seemed merely an aggravation to them. 

About one man in every twenty was engaged in making "souv- 
enirs" to sell to Americans. These souvenirs consisted of rings, cross- 
es, and various crude and fantastic designs of metal. They sold 
their handiwork for whatever they could get, altho always first de- 
manding something to eat in exchange. They all appeared to have 
some francs or marks but money does them little good as they have 
no chance to spend it. "Bread," or "brot," was always the answer 
to, "How much?" for this or that. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 149 

One man had a thin, silver cased watch I tried to buy thru An- 
drew. I offered fifty francs and got a curt and, I thought, insolent 
refusal. He wanted "brot." What good was money in an aching 
void? Andrew told him we would come back the next day with a 
loaf of bread and ten francs for the watch and the fellow signified 
a trade. 

I would dread the future in store for these men. Not only the 
immediate future but the years to come. What will the peace con- 
ference do for Poland, and for these men? What would a "free Po- 
land'' mean with Germany on the west and Bolsheviks on the east? 
There is something besides "democracy" yet to be wrought on this 
earth. 

The Poles in the Nixeville woods will spend the rest of this 
winter in the mud and the squalidness of that vermin-infested camp, 
with that eternal gnawing in their stomachs. They have no glorious 
or heroic past to sustain their hearts during the wretched months to 
come ; they never even bore arms for their country. Conditions are 
seldom so bad but that they might be worse. Very likely our plight 
in this woods might be a whole lot less harmonious than it is. 

Just no.^'^ we fortunately, or unfortunately, have something els 3 
to worry about besides being in the woods for the winter. (It 
snowed — actually snowed — today — a variation from the rain sched- 
ule and a substitution of slush for mud). Our orders to move to the 
Gondrecourt area were dated the 13th — Friday, again — and since 
then our mail has been going to our new station sixty miles a"\\ay. 

Only three or four men in the battalion have received their 
Christmas boxes and the rest of us are becoming mighty anxious. 
Those little 3x4x9 's are causing a whole lot of worry. If we only 
reach Villeroy by Christmas there will be much rejoicing. 

We have been getting our mail at Revigny, about twenty-five 
miles from here, somebody going after it each day. I made the trip 
one day lately and was in Bar-le-Duc for dinner. Bar-le-Duc has 
been much frequented by Americans this last year. It is the last 
city of any size leading to the American sector and has been a sort 
of junction town for all troops going to the different fronts in this 
sector. 

Some persons dislike being overcharged for their purchases, but, 
at times, I don't mind it one bit, especially when I spent little more 
than two-bits, so, personally, I bear no malice toward Bar-le-Duc. 

I nearly bought a horse while I was there. I was in search of 



150 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

some pork chops. It evidently was a porkless day in town for I vis- 
ited every "boueherie" I could find and was still without my meat. 
In despair of finding what I wanted, I finally in the last place I in- 
quired, decided to buy a couple of steaks off a particularly nice look- 
ing loin, altho there was an absence of any fat and I knew it had 
never been made in America. 

While the much bewhiskered lady behind the block was cutting 
off my steaks I casually glanced about the place and was suddenly 
confronted with a sign headed, "CHEVAL," and below followed a 
price list. 

My French being entirely inadequate for an explanation and 
argument with that he-\voman I beat it out of the place. 

I remember the first item following the ' ' horse ' ' head. It read : 

"Beefstak — 2 fr 4," for a kilo, I presume, which would be about 

twenty cents a pound — quite reasonable considering Bar-le-Duc 

prices, but I object to that woman calling horse-flesh "beefstak." 

* * * * 

Villeroy, France, 2 January, 1919. 

Back once more with the cows and the pigs and the chickens — 
and this the life again! To bed with the chickens and up with the 
lark, only the lark has gone south, or someplace, for the winter. 
Soldiers are no longer needed over here; it is farmers that seem to 
be required. We are billeted again. 

Our village, Villeroy, is the typical French village. Were ev- 
erybody home its population would be nearly seventy-five. It has a 
church and a school. A fountain adorns a public square, as does 
fourteen neatly piled heaps of manure, which are rapidly becoming 
cured to be ready for the spring fertilization. To the best of my 
knowledge France does not owe her soil one cent; what is taken 
from the land by each crop is paid back with interest before anything 
further is asked. 

Our village has three cafes, according to the signs on the build- 
ings, but the signs are the only things about the places that suggest 
anything to eat or drink. They have a big stock of "fini" — and 
that's all. I venture to say that the most overworked word in the 
French language, with the exception of ''oui," is "fini." 

The Palece de la Fontaine is exactly in the center of the town, 
an areaway before the church. From the fountain runs the Grande 
Rue, Rue Haute, Rue de la Fontaine and Rue de Sac. In our langa- 
age each street is about a block long and the houses and barns form 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 151 

a solid wall along each street. The billeting numbers run from 1 to 
71, each house, barn, shed and granary being numbered. From the 
appearance of the town I at first deduced that the billet numbers 
were the dates the buildings were constructed but I finally discovered 
"1768" on the house I thought was built in the year 34. 

The more than 600 men in our battalion live in this village crowd- 
ing the cows and the pigs and the chickens, and the greater part of 
the time crowding them for warmth. It is quite cold, and when it 
isn't snowing it is raining. No stoves are allowed in the barns and 
sleeping in the hay is forbidden. Leaky roofs are numerous. It 
isn't exactly an ideal existence, but personally I have no kick com- 
ing. I am better situated, as far as immediate comforts are con- 
cerned, than I have been at any time since I am in the army. I have 
another million-dollar bed ; for a time at least I am off those old 
daily disturbances, reveille and retreat, and sleep is the best thing 
I do. 

This bed of mine is probably as old as the house in which I live, 
but the bed clothing is really quite new and there are just oodles of 
clean, white linen. I have a feather tick below and feather "cover- 
ture" above. About 7 o'clock at night I sink in, and come up for air 
about that hour the next morning. And I honestly believe I haven't 
a flea on me. 

My room, which is also our office, is the parlor and actually the 
"front room" of the house. An old couple, so old they appear to 
creak when they move about, own the place. They live alone and sit 
by the big fireplace in the next room all day long trying to keep 
warm from the heat of the burning ends of fagots they keep shoving 
onto the blaze. The fireplace also serves as their kitchen range. 

I have never seen either of them doing anything beyond cooking 
their irregular, meager meals. They are feeble, forgetful and child- 
ish, and, while I pity them, I am sometimes amused as they putter 
around doing nothing as far as I can see. 

The old lady comes into the office, looks wise at what I am doing 
and talks continually, with me and my "wee-wee" satisfactorily 
holding up my end of the conversation. When she leaves the room 
she leaves everything she brought in with her and I have to return it. 

In nearly every French home somewhere or another there is a 
great big mirror more or less elaborately framed and as gorgeous as 
the inevitable "grandfather's" clock which stands to the ceiling. 
Both of these useful and ornamental articles of furniture are in my 



152 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

room and the old lady comes in frequently to consult one or the 
other and forgets to leave. She talks and talks and I know scarcely 
a word she says. While I continue at my work she keeps jabbering 
away. She sits on a trunk and tells me the history of the village, 
and, I believe, she talks about the neighbors. 

Christmas morning as the chimes were ringing the old lady came 
hustling in to the mirror all dolled up like a floral offering. The 
old man came too and helped with the pins and other fastenings 
while she primped. Something was unsatisfactory and she removed 
her long, lace-covered cape. She had forgotten to change to her 
holiday gown and was attired in the old and ragged and dirty habil- 
ments that had done duty as her "every day" dress, lo, these many 
years. 

We all had quite a laugh about it and the old man evidently 
thought it was the best joke since Napoleon was a corporal, the way 
he carried on. Finally madam returned to her part of the house, to 
change her dress I thought, but pretty soon monsieur and I heard her 
going out, and she was on her way to church — with dress unchanged 
and without the cape. I hurried out with the latter and received 
"beaucoup," "mercis, " and then she came back. I forgot her for 
nearly an hour when happening to go out the back way I found her 
in the kitchen washing greens with both her cape and bonnet on. 
She had forgotten all about Christmas and church and everything 
else. She's a great old lady at that. 

And Monsieur. He's a hundred, too. He comes snooping around 
usually kicking about something — a cracked window-pane ; ' ' f umee, ' ' 
when my stove smokes, which it does easily ; a slamming door ; or, 
maybe, "sacre Americains." He has lots of trouble. I named him 
Nick Carter because his makeup is too good to be real. 

Today I found out that my Nickname for the old man isn't far 
out of the way as far as a misleading appearance is concerned. 

I was cheeking up the billets and noting the names of the owners 
of the buildings. I had a chart of the town and each billet and own- 
er was shown. It was not long before I detected that just about the 
whole town was owned by a monsieur named Henry and I began to 
wonder who the village Rothschild might be. Finally I came to No. 
56, our office — and M. Henry owned that. Could it be that old Nick 
Carter, sitting out there in the back room poking the fire, was M. 
Henry ? 

The lurking suspicion became a fixed idea and kept cropping up. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 153 

as unreasonable and unlikely as I thought it to be, and, finally looking 
up our French interpreter I asked who this M. Henry guy was that 
owned, this, at present, thriving village. 

Of course, I was confounded when my old friend Nick turned 
out to be the bloated bond holder, but I was literally swept off my 
feet to learn further that M. Henry was also the town mayor ; that 
the acting town mayor is merely M. Henry's assistant, by virtue of 
being his son-in-law ; and that the old boy himself, besides being the 
town capitalist, is the big noise in local politics. 

And here, for more than a week, I've been sneaking corn-willy, 
an occasional candle, a loaf of bread now and then, or soap, or some- 
thing off the cook to slip to the old folks to keep their poor old bodies 
and souls together thru this hard, hard winter. 

We arrived here the day before Christmas and it was a big job 
getting settled as we had to clean up the town to make it habitable 
and sanitary for so many men. The town looked as tho cavalry 
had been here ahead of us. We were just arrived, wet and tired. 
Turkey with dressing, cranberry sauce, mince pies, candy and nuts 
are not included in army travel rations, nor in our reserve rations, 
so Christmas to us would have been a dreary day of remembrances, 
and nothing else, had it not been for those little 3 by 9 Christmas 
packages which were awaiting us here. 

Because it just happened to be nice yesterday, I am lame and 
ache all over today. If I were in the infantry a week I would be in 
the hospital a month. I walked twenty kilometers yesterday trying 
to find a village where there were neither American nor French 
"soldats" and was unsuccessful. Besides being tired and disgusted 
I came home hungry, and I made the trip purposely to get a change 
of diet for a day. 

It is refreshing to take a day off occasionally and get away from 
the army, but to really "get away" a person wants to find a town 
where there are no soldiers, and that is a hard job in this section of 
France. In a town where there are no Americans one can buy almost 
anything he wants and get ' ' service, ' ' but a village or town with eveu 
a small detachment of Americans billeted is "par bon" from the 
viewpoint of a soldier "tourist." 

In such a town, even if U.S.A. restrictions are not in t'oroe, 
"service" is no longer there. So long as the demand is not great 
there is a desire to sell, but when the demand is created by a bunch 
of American soldiers stocks can't last, and "service" becomes, instead. 



154 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

a protestation, and the would-be purchasers a nuisance. A dozen 
Yanks will ordinarily buy out a French town in an hour and there- 
after everything is "fini." 

French soldiers in a town don't help any either. They don't 
spend as we do but they clutter up the places and wherever they are 
billeted there are always plenty of restrictions with only certain 
hours in which one can buy. Was in one village yesterday that 
looked like a regular place and was just getting ready to loosen up 
with a few francs when the doors closed, shutters came to with a 
bang, and the closing ordinance went into effect. 

It is good fun, tho, to find a town where there are no soldiers. 
When the inhabitants spy an American they know the lid is off and 
there is business in sight. "Service," then, is the shop-keeper's 
middle name and, sometimes, they are even backward about over- 
charging. 

I will always remember a time I once had in a little, dinky vil- 
lage we found one afternoon when we were on our overland trip 
across France early last June. We reached our day's destination 
along about three o'clock in the afternoon and there wasn't a town, 
or even a house, anywhere in sight. It was a pretty countryside but 
we were surfeited with scenery, having been on the road several 
days, and with still five hours or more of daylight some of us had no 
intention of spending all that valuable time around camp. 

We pitched our pup-tents and while the cooks and K.P.'s were 
setting up the field-ranges, and the drivers and their assistants were 
gassing up their trucks, and everybody else busy settling camp for 
the night, three of us slipped off up the road, turned at a crossing 
and were out of sight of camp. We walked scarcely two kilometers 
when we came to the tiniest and prettiest village snuggled around a 
curve in a stream at the foot of a great, steep hill. 

We were the first American soldiers in that town, and it was 
so far from the battle zone and out of the way that even a French 
soldier was a novelty. The residents had heard of Americans — knew 
the Yanks were coming — but we were the vanguard to those folks, 
and maybe we didn't get a reception. The population welcomed us 
with open arms while the dogs barked their greetings. 

Everything in the town was ours and we couldn't spend a cent. 
We finally settled down in a cafe, with the crowd around us and a 
jam in the doorway, and ordered everything we could make them 
understand and we wanted. We had "oeffs, " "pomme de terre," 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 155 

cutlets, and all the things we long for now and can't get, and it was 
all cooked deliciously. 

I asked for ''fromage," and the cafe had none, but an old lady 
from the audience hurried home and brot back something that could 
have come over itself had she untied it. We ordered wine but it 
wasn't anything extra so we didn't make any particular fuss about 
it. An old man in the crowd noticed we were not going into ecstasies 
over it and he made a trip to his cellar. 

I will never forget that village. It isn't much larger than a pic- 
ture post card but it represents my. idea of the ultimate in hospitality. 
Since that time the remembrance of it frequently returns, especially 
when I am hungry and thirsty, and I am living in hopes that some 
day I may unexpectedly pop out on another village just like it. 
Occasionally, like yesterday, I deliberately scour the country in 
search of that surprise. 

In all the 20 kilometers of hiking yesterday and the eight kilo- 
meters we caught a ride we visited five villages and one fairly large 
sized town. In the latter we had dinner and for meat we had rabbit 
because it was rabbit or no meat. Sometimes I like rabbit, rabbit 
that I know is wild and when it is cooked just right, but over here 
they raise rabbits for market and the only thing that might make 
these bunnies wild would be their realization of the fact that they 
are being brought up like cats. This big town, too, closed up at one 
o'clock. 

We made a detour and took in the other village on the way 
home, hoping to strike some good place for supper. The best we 
could do was a can of sick sardines and some wormy nuts. 



PART III. 

BEYOND THE RHINE 
IN GERMANY 




CHAPTER I. 

Additions and Changes In Personnel — The Trip 
Into Germany — The Beautiful Moselle — Heim- 
bach — Surrounded by Comforts — ^Attitude of 
Germans — Real Service — German Cooking — 
German Consideration — Embarkation Orders 
No. 1 3 — Going Home? — "Dow^n the Rhine? — 
Fooled Again — ATrip Up the Rhine — The 
Kaiser*s Castle — A Football Game. 

Upon arrival in the 32nd Division's area in the Army of Occu- 
pation, near Coblenz, Germany, the Train relieved the 308th Ammu- 
nition Train and took over its equipment, trucks and horses, also its 
billets. The Motor Battalion and Train Headquarters were quartered 
in Heimbach while the Horsed Battalion made its home in Rommer- 
dorf Castle, adjoining Heimbach. The castle was built in the seven- 
teenth century and was the property of Herr Hobert, a former prince 
and a captain in the German artillery who had bought himself out of 
the service. There lived in the castle an English speaking superin- 
tendent, with his family, and they had the use of a few rooms, but 
the remainder of the great building and the grounds and stables 
were occupied by the companies of the battalion. The castle was in 
quite good repair and altho quite damp made an excellent home. 
Some of the rooms were sumptuously furnished and large paintings 
adorned the walls. 

Almost before the men were assigned their billets the usual nu- 
merous details were called out and the work started. There were 
details to the three artillery regiments of the 158th Brigade, to the 
107th Engineers and to nearly every other outfit in the Division that 
wanted any hauling done. The artillery practiced almost continu- 
ously and there was much ammunition to be hauled and dumps to be 
established. Men going on leave to Neuweid, to Coblenz or back 
into France, from the outfits of the division were picked up and 



158 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

hauled to either Neuweid or Coblenz. The motor equipment received 
from the 808th Ammunition Train was in wretched condition and the 
mechanics were put to it to keep the trucks rolling. 

Major Howard Donnelly, a young West Pointer, formerly of the 
2nd Ammunition Train, was assigned to the command of the Motor 
Battalion and took charge January 28. Captain Dayton returned to 
his old company, B, which had been in charge of Lieut Winch since 
the latter 's return to the organization in December. He had been 
sick in a hospital back in France for many weeks. 

Second Lieut. Charles Curtiss, also formerly of the 2nd Ammu- 
nition Train, was assigned to Motor Headquarters as supply officer. 
John W. Blechacz, who had been promoted from second to first lieu- 
tenant had been transferred from Company F to Horsed Headquart- 
ers and was the battalion supply officer. At this time 2nd Lieut. 
Fitchett was assigned to Company F. 2nd Lieut. Charles Wagner, 
who had been in the 127th Infantry and had returned to the division 
from the hospital, having been wounded, was assigned to Company 
C. Captain Nelson also returned to his old company after weeks in 
a hospital having his teeth treated. Second Lieut. Irl Fast was as- 
signed to Company D, and Lieut. Foizie who had been with Motor 
Headquarters was reassigned to his old company, D. 

Just before the Train had left France for Germany sixty-two 
men had been given seven-day leave back in one of the army re- 
creation areas and they returned to the outfit the middle of Feb- 
urary. They had a long leave, longer than they wanted. They had 
tried to get back but transportation had never been available for 
them, and they were glad to get "home" once more — glad to get 
back where the meals were regular and the billets clean, even if dis- 
cipline was somewhat more strict. 

When Captain Cairy went to the hospital, sick. Captain Theil- 
acker became personnel adjutant and Captain John Snyder was as- 
signed as train adjutant but later was taken back to division head- 
quarters and placed in charge of divisional athletics. 

* * * * 

Heimbach, Germany, 30 January 1919. 
If my living depended upon my ability to foretell future events 
I would probably starve to death in ten minutes. In civilian life I 
might get by with the three best bets of the day, or something like 
that, but, in this man's army I am a flat failure as a prophet, with- 
out honor even in my own outfit where I have a chance to present 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 159 

an immediate alibi upon the slightest provocation. I should never, 
never get my prognostications in print. 

I had it all figured out that about this time we would be out 
somewhere around 40degirees West, 45 degrees North where the bound- 
ing billows make holiday rations for the fishes, but, instead, we are 
in Germany, and beyond the Rhine at that — in the Weber and Fields 
land where there is "nobody home" all the time. 

After all those weeks of waiting to be sent home I never tli ought 
we would get into Germany, but we are back with the old division 
once more. 

Possibly I am disappointed because we are not on our way 
home — I know I am — but now that I am here I wouldn't have missed 
it for anything. As long as we are not among those mentioned in 
the priority passenger lists I would rather spend the interval which 
must ensue before that happy day arrives right here in Germany 
than any other place I know over here. We are surrounded by com- 
forts, sort of wallowing in luxury. The German may not liave been 
built for speed but he sure is fitted up for comfort. 

I don't know what sort of propaganda it was that told of starv- 
ing, destitute, down-to-the-last-crust Germany, but whoever originat- 
ed those tales was some kidder. I haven't seen a single missing door- 
.inob, strange as it may seem, and I thought all such articles had been 
melted up for the Berthas. The paper clothes I heard about seem to 
be all wool and a couple yards around, if not wide. The people look 
starved just as does the fat lady in the side-show. If appearances 
count for anything there never was a war; the more I see of Ger- 
many the more I think, "Poor France!" 

Some day there will be a settlement — some day soon, I hope. 
There seems to be a sentiment that Germany is bankrupt and that 
the Allies will have trouble collecting the indemnity to be exacted. 
If German}'^ is bankrupt then I'm a Dutchman. There is too much 
thrift, industry and wealth right in plain sight to cause any scare 
over a little thing like lack of gold or silver to back their trick cur- 
rency, and the people who benefit by this visible wealth and pros- 
perity should be made to pay, and, I trust, to feel it, when they pay. 

I wish there was some way they could first be made to realize the 
enormity of their country's crime. They are not in the least apolo- 
getic in their actions, and seem not to have an inkling of the crimes 
of their armies in France and Belgium. They still seem to think that 
wliat their armies and submarines did was justified. What blame 



160 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

they put is on the Kaiser and then, I believe, they blame him only for 
losing the war and skipping to Holland with a bank roll. Then, too, 
they blame him for reducing the quality of their beer. 

I can't fathom these people. I can't comprehend their denseness, 
or inability to distinguish right from wrong where the fatherland is 
concerned. It must be either childishness or pigheadedness. There 
is only one way to get " at " them and that is thru their purses, and I 
have an idea that some of these people around here don't care any 
more for a few marks than an Eskimo does for his winter underwear. 

I am far from an authority on Germany's finances. I am merely 
stating the opinion of a weak sister who was never very strong on 
finances of any kind, but it is hard for me to believe that Germany is 
not still rich. Take that one asset of her's we have always heard 
so much about — efficiency. Why not put it to work on her numer- 
ous resources and let the world cash in on that wonderful German 
qualification ? 

The Germans are efficient, beyond a question of a doubt, so ef- 
ficient that their country appears the most prosperous I have seen 
over here in the territory we occupy. And a country that for more 
than four years carried on a war such as made it the most hated 
nation on earth, and lost that war, and losing it still puts up the 
front Germany does, despite her efi'orts to hide it, has no business 
whimpering about the costs. 

While Germany is supposed to pay the expenses of the Army of 
Occupation, I am convinced that the occupation of the territory cov- 
ered by the American soldiers is really not costing her a cent. This 
quarter-of-a-raillion is living at the top of the earth and blowing in 
the marks at a rate that makes the days of the francs seem mighty 
tame. There is plenty of opportunity to spend the marks, whereas 
in France the greater part of the time we didn't care much whether 
we had a payday or not. 

Our move up here was very unexpected, to us. On the 13th 
(January) we were ordered to turn over our motor equipment to the 
313th Ammunition Train and proceed at once to Coblenz, Germany 
to rejoin the 32nd Division. Had the order been to proceed to a port 
of embarkation we would not have been as surprised. We entrained 
at Gondrecourt the next day following a terrible scare on my part. 

Back in May of last year we got our motor equipment and since 
then I have never had to hike a mile, but with this move order came 
the relinquishment of our transportation. We were 14 kilometers 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 161 

from Gondrecourt, with orders to inarch to entraining point carrying 
full equipment ! — to leave villeroy at 1 A.M. — a night march at that ! 

I asked my CO. to look for me in a couple of days and to hold 
the train if possible. I finally managed to convince him of the im- 
portance ofproper supervision in moving the office and negotiated a 
ride to Gondrecourt on one of the trucks moving our baggage. I 
want to say that an awful load was taken off my mind and a bigger 
load off my feet by that ride. 

I couldn't get a room for the night in Gondrecourt, not even a 
bed; couldn't get anything to eat or anything to drink — everything 
was so crowded with soldiers — so got a blanket at the "Y" and spent 
the night in a chair, greatly missing my big French bed but frequent- 
ly recalling thruout the night that I was also missing a 14 kilometer 
hike with one or two hundred pounds of equipment and souvenirs on 
my back. 

We pulled out of Gondrecourt at 11 o'clock that morning on a 
train which consisted of two big locomotives and forty box cars, the 
latter American made but short and stubby and lacking only 
"Chevals 8 — Hommes 40" to make them French. There were fifty 
men to a car and not quite enough room so that every man could 
stretch his legs when lying down to sleep. This was my first box car 
sleeper experience in France; when we came to Camp Coetquidan 
from LaHavre we travelled in passenger coaches and also travelled 
on real, tho dinky, trains in England. Since then all our travels have 
been in our own motor train. At Verdun that night we acquired 
several bales of hay from a flatcar on a siding and the sleeping 
wasn't half -bad. 

It was a very, very slow train on which we travelled. Tuesday 
morning, the 15th, we were still in Verdun, having made but 50 miles 
of our journey, but got under way again at 7 o'clock only to be held 
up for two hours more in the stretch of no man's land just ])eyond 
Verdun. At Conflans we were held up again for several hours and 
were finally given a northern routing thereby missing Metz. We 
passed thru Thionville, in Lorraine, and Remich, in Luxemburg, 
skirting the Luxemburg border for twenty miles. We were in Treves 
for several hours the next day, leaving there at 10 A.M. 

That day, Thursday, we travelled along the Moselle river, the 
railroad taking the river's every turn thru the most wonderful 
scenery, the nearly-flooded stream on our right and great hills — 
mountains — on our left. The railroad follows the banks of the river, 



162 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

along a ledge, at times being almost crowded into the stream by the 
abruptness of the embankment, and when the mountain's sharp slope 
•ontinued right to the water's edge we entered great tunnels, one, 
the Kaiser Wilhelm (the name is still over the entrance), being more 
than three miles long. I think we went thru seven tunnels that after- 
noon. As we emerged from each we would invariably pop out into 
some beautiful little town; and each curve in the ever-interesting 
Moselle would reveal other strikingly pretty cities colored in the 
bright, warm sunlight creating a great desire on my part to some day 
follow this same itinerary in some other vehicle than a boxcar and 
to visit for awhile in all these pretty places. 

Out of the left sidedoor of our Pullman that afternoon we could 
see extending as far up the steep hillside as we could crane our necks 
countless, even rows of sticks, which in growing time support the 
grapevines which yield the fruit from which the wine is made that 
bears the name of the river. It is beautiful country, this land which 
will soon belong to France once more. 

We arrived in Coblenz about six o'clock and remained until ten. 
We were not supposed to leave the station but some of us managed 
to get around quite a bit. Coblenz is a metropolis, a beautiful city 
at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle rivers and derives its 
name from the word "confluence." 

At 11 o'clock that night we reached Sayn (pronounced Sine, so 
we couldn't say we were in-sane) and our train sidetracked for the 
night, making our third night in a boxcar and it wasn't so bad 
at that. 

Friday morning we detrained and our outfit was billeted for the 
day and night. I had a nice room and the meals were good. I ate — 
might almost say, dined — a couple of times at the Krupp Hotel. 
Everything is "Krupp" hereabouts because Frau Bertha Krupp von 
Bohlen has a wonderful hunting lodge here, or did have until our 
64th Brigade started using it for a headquarters with all modern con- 
veniences. The old Kaiser and his sons are said to have frequently 
shot the wildboar, deer and fox that abound in this vicinity. 

Saturday morning we marched to our present home, Heimbach, 
a distance of about three kilometers, and here we live surround- 
ed by comforts. We have been issued some more Quads, thirty or 
more Packard trucks, a few automobiles and motorcycles, and are 
back on the job with the old division once more, altho we are not 
hauling ammunition like we did in the old days. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 163 

The attitude of the inhabitants is that of being unable to do too 
much for us and consequently had we not seen the German in the 
role of a Hun we might be induced to become somewhat friendly. 
These individual favors, so appealing, are hard to resist, and to con- 
sider as just another phase of the great German game of insincerity. 
They cringe because it is a part of their game. The word German 
means literally the shouter; but an appropriate interpretation would 
be the squealer. 

Not that I object to these favors. It is such a long time since 
any civilian did anything for me without the expectancy of being paid 
for it in cash that the experience is a novelty, and my present de- 
sire is that we do not remain here long enough for the novelty to 
wear off. 

I have a most wonderful bed ; a combination of feathers and linen 
that makes the arising hour something too awful to even contem- 
j)Iate. Thoughts of a court martial and possible detachment to a 
labor battalion to remain A.E.F., until the last dirty dog is hung or 
exiled is the only reason I ever get out of that bed. So close to the 
bed that I can touch it is a stove one might imagine to be an orna- 
laented, metallic refrigerator were it not for the warmth it gives out. 
In France there is the ever-present "grandfathers" clock ; in Germany 
it is the heater. I have seen scores of these stoves, yet I believe I 
haven't seen two alike, altho each one is a work of art as well as an 
efficient chill destroyer even if they do not look like a stove. 

My room is one of the few in Heimbach without electric light 
but elaborate candle sticks and fantastically designed lamps answer 
the purpose very well. The furniture is upholstered in red, and sev- 
eral cabinets, laces, table covers and wall decorations, while not like 
those in the Kaiser's palace near Bingen — Bingen-on-the-Rhine — yet 
they are of a different caliber than anything I have seen since we 
left God's country two service stripes ago. 

But, surrounded by all those limousine comforts, it is really the 
service that I am bragging about. Almost before I am dressed in the 
morning comes a Dutch handmaiden who makes up my bed and 
straightens things around; wipes off the furniture and washes the 
floor; gets me hot water, and maybe cold water, which isn't a bad 
drink even in Germany; picks up any soiled clothes I may have left 
laying around; even wipes the dust from my other pair of "hobs" 
which shine majestically and tryannically beneath my German bed. 
But the best thing this fraulein does is wiping up the floor without 



164 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

bending her knees. I've watched here time and time again and 
while I jnst know there is some trick in it I can't catch on. She 
seems to simply bend over and go to work. 

Evenings when I am in the olBce alone, Zimmermann and his 
frail, whose home this is, actually pester me with pork-chops, sauer- 
kraut, potatoes, "eirkuchen mit krauten, " Hollander kase," 
"wurst, " and such other delicacies heavy enough to sink a stronger 
man than I. The food shortage in this part of Germany, to the 
best of my knowledge, is in wheat-flour, soap, butter, cofl:'ee and 
chocolate. They seem to be supplied with everything else in the 
line of eatables. 

For all this service they refuse to accept a pfennig, but I ease 
my feeling of obligation by forcing a few marks on them now and 
then. Americans can never get the to-the-victor-belongs-the-spoils 
spirit so enjoyed by our friends, the French and the English. 

I can't say I blame the Zimmermanns much for not wanting to 
accept any of this funny German money ; still, considering the pay 
for a day's work, marks cannot be quite valueless. The American 
army is just in all its dealings with civilians of no-matter-whaf 
country and our Advanced G.H.Q. has established as maximum 
wages for civilian labor : 

Scrubwoman and laundress — 3 marks a day, with board, or 4.5 
marks without board. 

Common labor — 4:15 to 5:15 marks a day with board, or 6 to 7 
marks without board. 

Tailor — 9 marks a day with board, or 11 marks a day without 
board, or 1.10 marks an hour without board. 

Board seems pretty cheap. 

A working day is ten hours and the value of a mark in our money 
at the present time is about 12.9 cents. French exchange on 
U.S. dollars is 5.45 francs and francs exchange for marks at 100 francs 
for 142 marks. In Metz in November I got but 80 marks for 100 
francs. And the beautiful feature of this shin-plaster script is that 
we can buy more with a mark here than we could with a franc in 
France. Just as an illustration : A stein of beer back in France, 
when we could get it, cost a franc ; here we get four steins for a 
mark. But to tell the truth in neither France nor Germany is this 
stuff they brew worth what we pay for it. 

There is one qualification I have never seen credited to the 
Germans, altho they possess it in a marked degree in some instances, 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 165 

and that is consideration for others. Usually at noon I take my filled 
kit to the cafe on the corner near our kitchen and dine in style at a 
table near the heater. This noon I noticed an enameled sign on each 
of the two exists of the place. The sign on one door read, "Vor- 
sicht, 4 Stufen, " and on the other, "Vorsicht, 2 Stufen." While my 
German is better than my French I couldn't quite "verstche." I 
thought it meant something about being careful not to stuff too much 
at 2 o'clock or 4 o'clock, or something like that, but, instead, it 
means, "Be Careful, 4 Steps;" "Be Careful, 2 Steps." Now that is 
what I call being considerate. One is warned as he leaves the cafe, 
if he is not too far gone to read, that when he opens the door he must 
descend four steps before he lands on the wide sidewalk. I know 
now that the old story is true of the Dutchman who walked out of 
the side door of a baggage car and as hepicked himself up was heard 
to mutter, "Der shoult haf peen steps der," He was accustomed to 
signs when there were steps, and absence of signs warning him of 
steps signified to him that he had clear sailing. 

I am getting along surprisingly well with my conversational 
German. In France I never got much beyond the "wee-wee manure" 
stage ; never even got into the first reader. The dictionairre was as 
far as I got in French. But here I am almost to home. I always 
could get along pretty well in broken-English, knew Yah and Prosit 
and quite a few German words like that, and with the new ones I am 
acquiring daily I '11 be standing a hundred here some day if we remain 
long enough, which God forbid ! 

Heimbach, Prussia, Germany, 6 February, 1919. 

Ought not be fooling around writing letters; ought to be work- 
ing on matters that are pressing and really and truly important — on 
something really essential is what I mean. A certain document, en- 
ticingly entitled "Embarkation Orders No. 13," is occupying almost 
my entire time, and while it keeps me busy days and part of the 
nights the work is not distasteful. 

I think the title is very nice; charming, in fact. Usually our 
army reading matter has for a designation G.O. or S.O. number some- 
thing and one cannot tell a thing about the subject from the title. 
The popularity of "Embarkation Orders No. 13" is assured in the 
A.E.F. despite the vmfortunate "thirteen." It is safe to say that a 
first edition of two million copies would go over here in less time 
than it took the Boche to get from the Ourcq to the Vesle. 



166 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

The order means a great deal of work, and, it may be that it was 
given an alluring and possibly fictitious title simply to get a lot of 
work done willingly, altho I am loath to believe it. There are about 
thirty-five pages to No. 13 and it is the most absorbing literature I 
have read since Arabian Nights, and, no doubt, as impossible. It tells 
all about going home ! 

I haven't the order before me just now but I think it contains 
thirty-five pages. If it does, then I am on page thirty-three and that 
far I have complied with all requirements as far as it is within the 
power of a man in the army to do so. With only two more pages to 
go I thought I would take an evening off and get some of these troub- 
les of mine out of my system. It is a relief to tell them to somebody 
besides soldiers. And I do not believe a man would be left on the 
wharf just because he missed those last two pages. Besides, I have 
no doubt but that I will have plenty of time in which to conform with 
the final demands of No. 13. 

"Embarkation Orders" is not a recital on how to board a ship. 
There may be a paragraph hidden away mentioning that delightful 
sensation, but it is probably somewhere in those last two pages. It 
deals as far as I can determine with getting records up to date, get- 
ting rid of cooties, baths, clean clothes, souvenirs, baggage and pass- 
enger lists (12 copies), and a couple pages on morals. I haven't dis- 
covered the plot as yet, nevertheless I am very interested. There is 
a strain of expectancy that I am almost certain will reveal something 
in those last two pages, or a week or so later ; but, to be perfectly can- 
did, it wouldn't smell as sweet by any other name than Embarka- 
tion Orders. 

I have been fooled so often I refuse to fall for this embarkation 
stuff. They can't kid me any longer. I am becoming so suspicious 
they will have to blindfold me and lead me up the gang-plank on a 
halter to get me aboard a ship. 

Never before have we enjoyed such optimistic rumors as are now 
going the rounds and it is all I can do to keep my spirits from bub- 
bling over; but, as I said before, I have had so many disappoint- 
ments over misinterpreted dope that I won 't believe this latest dough- 
boy propoganda until I begin to get sea-sick. 

Division headquarters gets out a daily Summary of Intelligence 
giving events of the day of interest to our branch of the Army of 
Occupation and January 29th the statement was published that the 
42nd and 32nd would be the first two Guard Divisions to go home. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 167 

Later we heard we would preceed the Rainbow outfit their records 
were so far behind, and for other reasons. It is a fact that in some 
divisions the paperwork is a mess, and right here I arise to remark 
that the paper work of any army is second in importance only to the 
winning of battles. It is second to nothing when time comes to go 
home. 

Yesterday an order came down from Division instructing us in 
the manner of lettering and numbering all motor transportation and 
directing that the work be completed by February 22. Which might 
signify that said transportation would be turned over to somebody 
else on this anniversary of the birth of the father of Our Dry Country. 

In a memorandum published a few days ago were suggestions 
for a history of the 32nd Division and among other ideas was this 
statement offered as subject matter for one chapter: "The Trip to 
the Rhine — The Trip Down the Rhine." Bet money in terius of 
hundreds of francs that we are out of here by March 5 is laying 
around with aggravating looseness. The big story is that we go 
down the Rhine and embark at Rotterdam. I'll not be the only one 
fooled this time — not with General Lassiter's signature on a docu- 
ment hinting a "trip down the Rhine." It shows somebody is guess- 
ing besides me. 

Of course the big excitement is caused by the expectation of a 
trip down the Rhine. If plans materialize the Division will leave this 
area at the rate of 2,000 men a day on boats bound for Rotterdam, 
Holland. 

The Engineers claim one of their companies is already in Rotter- 
dam erecting delousing stations and other needed buildings. The 
division surgeon is quoted as authority for the statement that a de- 
tachment of medics from Corps are also at Rotterdam and are look- 
ing after the interests of the 32nd. I could go on quoting authority 
for all this optimism. Why, even today, in open meeting at the 
Quartermaster's, the remark was made by an officer who certainly 
ought to know that the entire divison would be out of here by 
March 15th. 

And then, on the other hand, the papers are full of Foch's de- 
claration that the Germans may fight again ; and with all this antagon- 
ism on the matter of disarmament it is only reasonable to suppose 
that trained troops will be retained where they are the most needed. 
So there you are. What chance has a fellow to arrive at any con- 
clusion a-tall ? 



168 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

Anyway, if I can't got down the Rhine, I have been up the Rhine. 
Went to Coblenz the other day and made the river trip. It was quite 
cold but the boat trip was wonderful. Was up the Rhine as far as 
St. Goar to the great fortress of Rheinfels, said to be the most mag- 
nificent ruin on the Rhine. The fortress was built in 1255 and when 
the French cleaned up the Germans in 1797 Rheinfels became the 
magnificent ruin. 

At Boppard six valleys enter the Rhine and it is wonderfully 
beautiful, even on a cold day. At Boppard one gets the famous 
Vierseenblink — view of the Rhine as four lakes — -the result of the 
mountains and an S curve in the stream. We also passed between 
the castles Stolzenfels and Lahnek facing each other across the river 
above Coblenz. 

I had previously visited Stolzenfels — the Royal Castle of Stol- 
zenfels — known to the soldiers as the Kaiser's Castle. It is six kil- 
ometers from Coblenz and was one of the many castles owned by 
William II. The original castle was built in 1250, but it seems that 
in the old days the French were bad luck to the Boche because in 
1688 the French made Stolzenfels look as tho the 57th F.A. Brigade 
had been attached to the invaders. 

To give one an idea of the condition it was in following that 
date the bit of history I read said, "It remained a ruin until the Crown 
Prince, later King Fredrick William IV, accepted it as a gift from 
the people of Coblenz." If the people of Coblenz gave it away that 
ruin must have been in tough shape. I know, because I have seen 
quite a few of the people of Coblenz. 

William IV put in six years, 1836-1842, and a million marks, 
cleaning up the debris and empty 75 shell cases and erecting a fit 
place for the future William II and the dearly beloved Crown Prince. 
Labor was cheap at the time, the rock didn't cost anything and the 
old boy did a pretty good job building that castle even if he was a 
Dutchman. You can judge how good it is by the fact that U.S.A. 
soldiers are not permitted to mar the floor with their hobnails. We 
were compelled to draw heavy socks over our shoes before we were 
allowed to enter. 

The interior is marvelously decorated with frescoes and antiques, 
the former principally depicting bible tales and exploits of when 
knighthood was in flower, if you can imagine such a thing in Ger- 
many. Some of the pictures are so large they cover an entire wall of 
a large room. In the council chamber hang quantities of helmets, 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 169 

\ 

sets of armor and weapons from the days of old. I came near getting 
Blucher's epaulets but a darned M.P. was looking. In a garden I 
found a bust of Joan of Arc that wasn't busted, so I judge that 
Joan 's real name was Johanna von Arcmann, and like George Wash- 
ington, Thomas Jefferson, Marshal Foch and the world's other great 
personages, she was really born in Germany. 

Took in a football game Lincoln's Birthday that was almost as 
savage as the start of the drive from Avocourt and with just about 
as much love displayed. The 2nd and 32nd clashed at Neuweid on 
the Rhine before a regular Thanksgiving Day crowd and the feeling 
between the "factions" was quite some intense. I had often heard 
of a "battle royal" but this was the first one I had even seen. The 
M.P.'s were deployed as skirmishers before the first quarter had a 
good start and I heard later they sent a courier for a division of Bol- 
sheviks for reserves. 

The sassy Sixth Marines who of course, have to live up to their 
devil-dog rep in their own home outfit, did not add to the peaceful- 
ness of the scene. A few divisional flags and officers were mussed up 
and several provocating remarks were heard. The man who invented 
West Point turned over in his grave that day. From an educational 
standpoint the game was not without its value, either, we learned 
positively who won the war — the 107 M.P.'s. 

We lost the game, lost it to 18, but take it from me, those Regs 
are tickled to death we are booked for home. They don't want this 
outfit in the army when the return dates are being arranged. 

General Pershing reviews the 32nd Division tomorrow or the day 
after and everybody is in a great flurry over this momentous event. 
The affair will take place right near our village and I expect to take 
it in from the sidelines. The significance of this review in my mind 
is of such importance that it actually makes me nervous. Why should 
the C. in C. come way up here to give us the once-over if it wasn't 
to be a sort of a farewell affair ? 



CHAPTER II. 

Theatricals and Athletics — Motor Shows — Details 
To France — More Details — Swanson and Re- 
mich in A.E.F. Finals — Divisional Review — 
Company A Men Decorated By General Per- 
shing — Trip To Cologne — Fraternizing With 
the Bloomin' Britishers — Orders For Home 
Actually Received — Goodbye Deutschland — 
League of Nations Predicted a Bush League. 

AMATEUR theatricals and athletics were the principal amuse- 
ments during those months in Germany and each affair was 
greeted with a packed house that shrieked its applause or 
hissed its disproval. The train was particularly fortunate in its enter- 
tainment as Heimbach had the best theater in the area, and besides 
the home talent affairs the" Y" brought in frequent show troups. Prac- 
tically every regiment had its own show company and the Ammu- 
nition Train had as good bunch of actors as any. In athletics, 
particularly in boxing, the Train was well represented. Lieut. Christof- 
f erson was regimental athletic officer and developed a very creditable 
string of fighters. Charlie Doster, Company B, while eliminated in the 
divisional finals continued fighting in the divisional team and appeared 
in Coblenz, Trier and back in Luxemburg, getting the decision in 
many bouts, "Chick" Remich, Company A, won the light-weight 
championship of the division, later defeated the best men in the 
corps and then won the championship of the Army of Occupation. 
Sergeant Harry Swanson, Company D, heavyweight and standing bet- 
ter than six-feet, two-inches, with a solar plexus punch that never trav- 
eled over fifteen inches, cleaned up everything that looked like a 
real fighter and likewise won the championship of the Army of 
Occupation. Both Remich and Swanson appeared in the A.E.F. finals 
in Paris. Remich, a clean and pretty gentlemanly fighter, whose 
only fault was that he used up his strength in pushing his oppon- 
ent away for clean breaks, lost out to the Negro, Patterson. Swan- 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 171 

SOU; in all his fighting in Germany, never had a bout that went ovei- 
two or three rounds. He had never been called upon to exert himself 
beyond that distance and was not trained for a longer affair. He 
went ten rounds to a draw in Paris, and the bouts were limited to 
ten rounds, but this particular bout was allowed to go an additional 
frame for a decision and Swanson lost. 

But life in Germany was not made up entirely of athletics and 
entertainments by any manner or means. The sports were decid 
edly a side issue — the avocation of a few. With each day came new 
details and the steady grind of trucks and tractors. In March the 
Horsed Battalion turned in nearly all of its horses and received in 
their place twelve five-ton American tractors with which to prac- 
tice and become proficient. Six officers and more than two hundred 
men were sent back to France after new motor transportation for 
the Third Army. Part of the detachment went to Marseilles and the 
rest to La Rochelle. They were gone three weeks and returned emp- 
ty handed, the motor equipment they went after having been shipped 
by rail. Lieut. Foizie and Captain Weidman had gone to the A.E.F. 
school at Cote D'Or. With scarcely enough men and trucks left to 
put on the guard and take care of the ordinary details came orders 
to prepare for a motor show at Sayn and shortly after came the Div- 
isional Review by General Pershing. Those were busy days for the 
men of the Train, but it was the Train that took the greater share 
of the prizes at the motor show and also hauled the most men to the 
review. 

# * * * 

Heimbach, Prussia, Germany, 1 March, 1919. 

All signs failed again ; and because I was skeptical, doubting the 
very evidence of my eyes, I am not so greatly disappointed. We are 
not going home this month, nor next month. In a previous letter I 
sort of admitted we was anxious to go home and that signs were 
somewhat in our favor. I believe I even mentioned a review by the 
Commander in Chief as a grand finale to our endeavor in the A.E.F. 
and said review is postponed. My idea of a simple-minded boob is one 
who believes everything bearing the official stamp which he reads. 

The review has been postponed until the first week in May. 
That is the way the signs are pointing now, but they shift so often 
there may be another change before I get thru with this letter. 

We recently received a statement by G.H.Q., in which were given 
the probable dates of departure for home of certain divisions in the 



172 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

A.E.F. The telegram we received gave the estimated shipping ca- 
pacity available by months and basing the statements on that esti- 
:iate gave the sailing dates of the divisions. In an explanatory para- 
graph it was said that divisions, except Regular Army, will be return- 
ed in the order of the arrival of their respective headquarters in 
France. Then it goes on and names a whole list of divisions that 
came over after we did as sailing before we do. Of all the divisions 
mentioned only two, the 26th and 42nd, were here before us. We 
were really the fifth complete divisions of the A.E.F. , Headquarters 
of the 2nd Division preceded headquarters of our division but the 2nd 
was formed over here from replacements from other divisions and 
casual detachments. 

I believe the schedule will be advanced somewhat and that we 
will be out of here before May, but I no longer believe the dream 
tale of the trip down the Rhine to Rotterdam, altho there are hopes. 
I am no longer so anxious for that trip either, unless it is the shortest 
way home, because I have seen quite a lot of the beautiful Rhine and 
its towns and cities. 

I have been up the river as far as the rocks of Loreley, where, in 
the days when Mars was an amateur, the evil sorceress of the golden 
locks vamped the poor mariners into the "wilde wasser," and as a 
Hun rival of Circe of the South had a softer job in her mermaid act 
than did Homer's wild-woman, because, as I remember it, Circe 
changed some of her victims into swine while the blonde of the Lor- 
eley already had that part of her work done for her. 

I have been down the Rhine to Cologne, Koln or Coin, as it is 
variously spelled ; had a delightful automobile ride along the wind- 
ing Rhine, saw the cathedral of Cologne from top to bottom, and 
spent the remainder of the long, pleasant day fraternizing with the 
bloomin' Britishers. Cologne is the headquarters of the British Army 
of Occupation and therefore is out of our visiting area. It was quite 
a trick negotiating the trip. Left here early in the morning, going 
to Third Army headquarters at Coblenz, where we obtained (pro- 
cured is the better word) a pass with the privilege of remaining in 
Cologne until midnight. 

It required about three hours to make the run. We were held 
up by M.P. 's twice ; first when we left the 2nd Division area and again 
when we left the 42nd Division area entering the British lines. The 
English didn't bother us for our pass a single time. There is a 
smooth, stone pavement the entire distance and the weather was fine ; 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 173 

it is spring along the Rhine these days and it seldom rains. That 
day the sun shone warm and brightly nearly the entire time. I don't 
suppose there is a prettier three-hour automobile drive in the world 
than from Coblenz to Cologne along the Rhine. There is a great 
deal of boat traffic of various kinds ; great, long tow barges, tug 
boats and many other craft, passing up and down the steam bound 
up to Mainz or Frankfort, or down toward Rotterdam and the sea; 
and there is the great natural beauty of the country and the many 
pretty towns and cities. 

At Coblenz we crossed the Moselle river at the mouth of the very 
beautiful Moselle valley, taking the route along the west bank of the 
Rhine. Islands are quite frequent in the channel of the Rhine. We 
traveled thru Andernach, where Frankish kings once lived, and on to 
Remagen with great hills towering over us and each peak surmounted 
by a castle or a ruin, each succeeding mountain-side covered with 
prettily constructed and colored homes and hotels. On the highest 
and steepest summit towers the ruins of Burg Hammerstein men- 
tioned in 1002 as being built on a Roman foundation. Crossing the 
River Ahr we could see far to the west the mountains where it rises 
Then we came to Remagen whose reputation rests upon the past per- 
formance of Saint Appollinaris, and I don't know why. It may be 
that the Saint was the first German to discover that water was quite 
a palatable drink at times. I base my guess upon the remembrance 
that a certain bottled water, labeled "Appollinaris," costs fifteen 
cents a split back in the United States. I suppose I have made a 
poor guess. 

From Remagen to Bonn is especially beautiful, so beautiful that 
it is bewildering. There is Rolandseck, where, according to Alex- 
ander von Humboldt, the landscape is the most wonderful in the 
world. In sight are the Siebengebirge (Seven Mountains). The 
district has borne the name since the eleventh century. It is a mina- 
ture mountain country extraordinarily rich in variety of scenery. 
Idyllic vales and mountain tops with clustered hotels and frequent 
castles make it indescribable in beauty. There is the watering place 
of Honnef and the Rhine islands, Nonnerworth and Grafenwerth, 
with gardens and vineyards even this season of the year unusually 
picturesque, and the residences of the wealthy; Drachenfels Castle 
and the cave which was the lair of the dragon which Siegfried slew 
and is the reason that the wine grown there is called Drachenblut 
(Dragon's Blood.) Drachenburg follows Drachenfels, and imposing 



174 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

Petersburg, crowned with an hotel, comes next. Then comes Godes- 
burg, across the river, with the mighty castle ruins left as ruins by 
the French in 1794 when in its 700th year. The Godesberg ruins 
were the property of Princess Fredric Karl of Prussia and mark the 
spot where Emperor Julian is said to have built a castle and a tem- 
ple to Jupiter in 360 A.D. Bonn, in the hands, or rather, in the mailed 
fists of the English, is the home ofthe University of Bonn and is also 
the birthplace of Beethoven. Bonn marks the end of the mountain- 
ous district of the Rhine. From Bonn there is wide level country to 
the sea. 

Members of the Grenadier Guards, who spoofed us, don't you 
know, over our conspicious, golden service-bars denoting a year's 
service while they were wearing four-and-a-half years of scarcely dis- 
cernable stripes, Avelcomed our unannounced arrival as we hitched 
our automobile before the cathedral in the greatest city in western 
Germany. They were so friendly I almost suspicioned them of being 
disguised Dutchmen overdoing their English impersonation. I still 
remember the week I spent in England more than a year ago and our 
voyage across on an English boat where our very presence seemed to 
be resented because we were taking up space on ship which could be 
used to better advantage, to their notion, by foodstuffs. In those 
days the Britishers wanted something to eat, not help from amateurs. 
They would lick the bloomin' Dutchman with one hand tied behind 
the back some Sunday morning before church just as soon as arrange- 
ments were made, but in the meantime they desired an occasional 
change from their marmalade and cheese diet. Before the day was 
over I recalled that former attitude to some of my new friends and 
they insisted I was mistaken. Their apparent unfriendliness at that 
time, they explained, was because the bloody Yanks were so hard to 
get acquainted with — so reserved — and they were fearful of making 
friendly advances for that reason. Imagine Yanks reserved ! 

Cologne is the capital of the Rhine province, the largest and rich- 
est of Germany. While not the largest it is considered one of the 
most important towns of the former empire. Its population is over 
650,000. Formerly Cologne had direct navigation communication 
vdth London as well as with the German north and east sea coast 
harbors. Smoke from the Krupp works, still dabbling in submarines 
and cannon, it is said, lingers in the sky above the city blown from 
not far away. A great sign, EAU DE COLOGNE, discloses from 
whence comes that awful smelling perfume and toilet water. Too 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 175 

bad that plant could not have been wrecked during the war. The 
peace commission ought to take up the matter and have the place put 
out of existence. Cologne possesses a great number of buildings the 
origin of which goes back to the middle ages, but the distinctive edi- 
fice, is, of course, the Cathedral. It is massive and grand, so old that 
few existing edifices surpass it. It is considered the crown of Gothic 
architecture. The foundation dates back to 1248 and the final stone 
was laid by William I in 1880. The loftiest spire is 520 feet high. 
Since 1842 twenty-one million marks have been expended on its con- 
struction and goodness knows hoAV much was spent during the pre- 
vious 600 years. We obtained tickets and an English guide at the 
Dom Hotel and went up into one of the towers. From the spire the 
view of the city and surroundings, of the Rhine and the dim moun- 
tains in the distance, was most beautiful. The interior of the ca- 
thedral is a bewildering maze of pillars in even rows, but one easily 
gets lost on a "side street." The altars are costly and grand, but 
the brass and marble lack lustre. It is as chilly and damp in the 
place as in a cellar. I imagine it to be an unhealthy place to worship. 
It certainly was for the Boche who worshipped Gott there. 

That evening we were at the British Officers' Club in the Dom 
Hotel. The fact that I was with an officer endorsed me with the Eng- 
lish because there is no explaining the eccentricities of the Americans, 
and they didn't give a hang whether I was a general or not, altho men 
and officers mix like oil and water in their own army. The dining 
room of the club is so large that the three-hundred or more men pres- 
ent were not crowded a bit. TheBritishers certainly loosen up among 
themselves. In the place was an American lieutenant who had been 
with the British so long he talked like them and he took us around. 
If Sir Douglas Haig was in the place I met him, because I met them all. 

I even met a man with thesame surname as mine, but his Chris- 
tian moniker had my poor old John C, faded. His is A. Turkington. 
We established a second or third cousinship for the evening and 
thereafter I was jake. It seems that I have been sort of mistaken all 
these years believing the English to be stuff, ceremonious and formal. 
That bunch that night was as free and as cordial as I ever encount- 
ered. And there is one other feature I observed that is more or less 
enlightening, or, maybe, makes the problem still more perplexing. 
An Englishman with a monocle has always appeared deucedly funny 
to me and affected. Swagger, as they call it. That night I saw mon- 
ocles but I also saw scores of Englishmen who were entitled to wear 



176 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

honors upon their breasts, yet there wasn't a medal "swaggering" in 

sight. The medals were hidden from view and regarded apparently 

as something personally precious never to be displayed. Frenchmen 

have no such modesty — absolutely not — they go around decorated 

like John Philip S., and the Yank isn't exactly a shrinking violet 

either. 

* # # * 

Heimbach, Germany, 20 March. 

Something like sixteen months ago, on a clear, bright day at the 
parade ground at Camp MacArthur, Texas, I thrilled with pride and 
expectancy as I watched the Thirty-second Division, 25,000 strong, 
pass in review before it commanding general ; intensively trained sol- 
diers of a few months from the homes of Wisconsin and Michigan 
about to go to war. 

Just the other day I again saw that Thirty-second pass in re- 
view. This time on the sun-brightened hills of Dierdorf, beyond the 
Rhine in Germany, and before the Commander-in-Chief of the Amer- 
ican forces on foreign soil. Still 25,000 strong. But of the 25,000 
three-fourth were replacements, soldiers from nearly every state in 
the Union. The Thirty-second had been to war. 

I had many thrills as I gazed upon that field of ceremony, thrills 
caused by many remembrances and emotions as I watched that sea of 
steel helmets and bayonets in formations as exact as geometrical 
figures ; perfect soldiers of a division at full strength ; one man in 
four an original, the other three representing the toll of battle. 

It was a glorious day never to be forgotten. To the Thirty- 
second, a division in all "caps" in Who's Who in the A.E.F., it re- 
presented the grand finale of a series of months of events the likes 
of which will never be seen again, nor have they ever passed before. 
General Pershing spCLt the entire afternoon insoecting and review- 
ing the division whose regiments were spread out in formation cov- 
ering the hill-tops and depressions of the greatest heights in our area. 

Among the spectators were many Germans — men, women and 
children — intently interested in everything that took place, mystified 
by the absence of plumage and colors, keenly disappointed because 
General Pershing was not helmeted in silver or gold and received in 
that shining, flashing, glittering pomp to which they are so accustom- 
ed. A German woman next to me, who stood in the chill for hours 
awaiting the General's arrival, said a word when he finally stepped 
from his car that wasn 't a nice word to say even for a kultured Boche 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 177 

woman, but it exactly expressed her bitter disgust. As the General 
stepped forward she pointed and inquired of me, "Pershing?" As I 
nodded confirmation she said that word. Then she snorted and left 
the field, her expression implying a scornful and haughty contempt. 
Not a plume, not a bit of brass did the General display. He simply 
added one to that field of khaki. 

I, too, had my disappointment that day. I lugged a vest-pocket 
kodak since I left home, smuggled it over here contrary to orders, 
and never used it. Since the armistice one may photograph anything 
he chooses, and that day I had it along for the express purpose of 
getting a picture of the C-in-C. For two hours I maneuvered for that 
picture but my two-and-a-quarter-by-three-and-a-quarter would have 
required a telescopic lens to get anything that looked like a close-up. 
I couldn't get anywhere near him and my fingers were getting cold. 
I finally shot the roll in order to free my hands so I could put on my 
gloves and get warm. I got a couple views of the 150-piece band, 
and a very good band it is. I got a picture of two of the decorated re- 
viewing stand with General Lassiter, its sole occupant, "tending 
door." I snapped General Pershing astride his white horse, and I'll 
bet tliat picture will look like a blurred white horse and nothing else. 
I took a few shots at the troops and I was thru photographing for the 
day. 

After the review was over I stood by the roadside near the gen- 
eral's car bound to get a good look anyway. As he came from the 
reviewing stand he stopped to speak to a couple of American ladies 
and he stood so close to me I could hear his low-toned conversation. 
Among other things I heard him make the abrupt remark, "Mighty 
fine division — seldom see a division like that." He stood there talk- 
ing for five minutes, five feet away with the sinking sun shining over 
my shoulder full upon him. I fingered my kodak and darned my 
fool self. I didn't have a shot left. 

Among those receiving decorations that day were three men 
from our battalion who distinguished themselves at Juvigny last 
September. These men, Walter Raleigh, John Shedlewski and James 
Norton, are of our Company "A" of Menasha. During a heavy bom- 
bardment a shell burst near two ammunition trucks that were being 
loaded at a dump, blowing up one of the trucks and setting fire to 
the other which was partially loaded with powder charges. The 
shelling was so heavy the men were lying in shelter but they rushed 
out and in some manner extinguished the flames, cranked up and 



178 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

backed the old Quad to a place less dangerous. Their action un- 
doubtedly saved the dump, a few other trucks and other things from 
going flooey. 

While these were the only medals bestowed upon men of our 
Train they were not the only deserving ones. Never an ammuni- 
tion convoy came off the front but that it had its tale to tell. The 
number of medals in an organization is no criterion of its experiences 
in battle. Many an outfit was too busy working or fighting to keep 
track of its heroes and make the necessary recommendations. Each 
individual recommendation requires yards of typewriter ribbons; 
hence many a buck goes back home ribbonless with only an alibi cov- 
ering his breast. 

* * * m 

24 March. 

The intermission is due to circumstances over which I wish I 
had control. The other day we all got another shot in the arm. I've 
been sick — sicker 'n a dog — since. I've had chills and fever, head- 
ache, backache, aches all over besides an arm twice its ordinary size. 

Back home that spring about the time I joined the old guard 
company I got my first set of threes when we had a typhoid scare in 
our town. I collected another set at Camp Douglas and still another 
at Camp MacArthur. When I got my first inuoculation I was told 
I would not be suseptible to typhoid for seven years. I was told the 
same thing twice after that, so I had arrived at the conclusion that I 
would require no further protection along that line for twenty-one 
years. Among other things in Embarkation Orders the Medics slip- 
ped in another slam at typhoid. 

All the vaccine pumped into me before was just so much water 
compared to this last shot. This stuff was declared to be triple lipo 
vaccine. I believe some linotype guy hit the wrong key. This stuff 
was never meant for humans. It must be something the Docs had 
fixed up for hipos. Anyway I am safe now for twenty-eight years. 
I'm going to convert my War Risk insurance into a thirty-year en- 
dowment. 

The final shot in the arm was a necessary evil, the review was 
necessary and an inspection of records by G.H.Q. officers was a final 
necessity. We are all set, with nothing to do but mark time and bite 
our fingernails. Time is passing quite swiftly so far but I know 
these next three weeks will simply drag along. We are actually 
going home ! 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 179 

There is no more guessing, no more figuring; no more need to 
stew and fret. Everything is settled. The Thirty-second begins pull- 
ing out April 15 and the entire division will be gone from here within 
a week thereafter. We don't go down the Rhine. We don't go to 
Rotterdam or Amsterdam or any other (deleted) Dutch port. We 
sail from Brest, undoubtedly, and we make the trip there in box cars. 
Sixty hours is our schedule time from Coblenz bridgehead to Brest, 
sixty hours more in a box car, but we should give a darn if it is 
cattle cars, for, 0, boy, we're going home! — and it's any way to get 
there. 

Goodbye Deutschland. Very glad to leave you. Thank you — 
don't mention it. Maybe in my final hours on earth I'll get thai for- 
give-thine-enemy spirit. I say, maybe. I expect, and hope, to live 
a good many years more. Had I gone directly home from France I 
believe I would have felt more kindly toward the Boche than I do 
now, and I didn 't exactly love him then. He has been hypocritical in 
his every action in our everyday life since we are here. He sim- 
ulates a friendliness in a manner and for a reason which we know 
to be false. He pretends to love us with all his heart and soul because 
we are not French or English, and overdoes it. Our presence here 
insures his skin and assures him regular meals. Why don't he let 
it go at that and tolerate us as a good thing instead of slopping over 
with an assumed afi^ection ? 

I can't for the life of me imagine these people ruling the world. 
I wonder where the Kaiser got the idea. Possibly from the history 
of Europe. Since the year one, and especially since the year one 
thousand, somebody on this continent gets that idea in every gen- 
eration and sometimes there are two somebodies. Somebody wants 
more power than his brother's wife's cousin. If it isn't a kaiser it's 
a burgomeister wanting it. A League of Nations over here will be a 
bush league before some of us die. There will be wars in Europe 
when the equator turns cold. Of course I don't know what I am talk- 
ing about, but, I 'd rather have a home on a barren island out in Lake 
Michigan than one of these castles on the Rhine. The United States 
just got thru saving the world. It has been good practice for Uncle 
Sam. That will be a good steady job for him in his old age. 

What is the name of that once-proposed universal language? 
Esperanto? Get the French, English, Germans, Italians, Bulgarians, 
Russians, Checks, and a few more of these "foreigners" talking Es- 
peranto for a hundred years or so and then the League of Nations 



180 THEU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

might take. These countries are too far apart to be so close together. 
I'll stay here a couple weeks longer and help them out but after that 
they can shift for themselves. I'm done. 



CHAPTER III. 

Homew^ard Bound — Sea-Sick Soldiers — A Fourth- 
Class Battleship — Dizzy Bunks — Incident of 
the Rolling Ship — Navy Suffers in Comparison 
With Army — Everything Going Out; Nothing 
Coming In — Details of the Trip Out of Ger- 
many and Life At Brest — The Hurry To Get 
Home — Over the "Hump" — Amusements 
Aboard Ship — New^ York Instead of New^port 
News — End of Voyage and Out of the Army. 

NEVER were army orders so welcomed as those which sent us 
home. The order which officially declared the Armistice was 
not received with as great joy. Men and officers all wanted 
to go home. There were no inducements great enough to keep a mem- 
ber of the Train in the army. The campaign for volunteers to remain 
in the Army of Occupation met with complete failure in the Train. 

One of the last acts by the personnel of the Train was the for- 
mation of the 107th Ammunition Train Veterans' Association with 
Captain Edward Dayton, president; Captain Joseph Zawodny, vice- 
president, and Sgt. Maj. John C. Acker, secretary. 

Sgt. Walter E. Bauer of Train Headquarters was commissioned 
second-lieutenant just a few days before the Train left Germany. 

All motor equipment including the tractors and rolling kitchens 
were turned in either at Sinzig, Neuweid, Coblenz or turned over to 
the 158th F.A. Brigade. The Motor Battalion, less Company D, en- 
trained at Niederbieber at midnight, April 21. The remainder of the 
Train entrained at Engers at 6 o'clock the next morning. Each 
railroad train consisted of about fifty cars and carried about 1,000 
men, other outfits of the Division traveling with the Ammunition 
Train. 

At Brest the Train was quartered in Section 14 at Camp Pont- 
anezen. There were inspections, delousing, new clothing issued and 



182 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

passenger lists compiled. Just before noon of April 30 the Train 
marched to Brest and at 1:30 P.M. embarked on the U.S.S. Louisi- 
ana which cleared the following morning at 8 o'clock. 

The 107th Ammunition Train organized at Camp MacArthur, 
Texas, with 26 officers and 951 men, aU from Wisconsin. The day, 
at Camp Merritt, N. J., when the Train ceased to be an organization 
its 34 officers and 1,142 men were from nearly every state in the 
Union. There were men in the outfit from every state except North 

Carolina, Vermont and New Hampshire. 

* * * * 

On Board U.S.S. Louisiana, 6 May, 1919. 

This letter will be mailed at Newport News, U.S., sometime, I 
hope. If I should die before this ship reaches port the letter will be 
mailed anyway. I've seen to that. These may be my last words so 
I intend making the most of the opportunity while there is yet life. 

First, I wish to retract any statement or statements I have made 
at any time that in any way reflects upon life in the army. I take 
back everything evil I have wished upon the army. Had I sack-cloth 
and ashes I would willingly do repentance in the most approved 
manner. 

Before I die, and from present indications I will survive about 
twenty-four hours longer, I mean to request burial on land and I 
want to be buried by the army. I am just crazy about the army. If 
there was any hope of my seeing land once more I almost believe I 
would re-enlist in the army. The more I see of the navy the more 
I love the army. 

There may be a ray of hope, so I will not commit myself to re- 
enlist, and understand, if I should happen to live thru this none of 
the stuff in the preceding paragraph goes. I was able to take a little 
nourishment this noon and it is still down so there may be a chance 
for me, and I intend to pray tonight. 

Since April 30th we have been aboard the U.S.S. Louisiana, a 
fourth-class battleship. It is fourth-class, I believe, because of its 
accommodations for troops, and I can't for the life of me understand 
why it is rated so high. There should be a bridge across the Atlantic 
and then the navy could be used for the purpose for which it was 
intended, whatever that is ; but this I know, that it was never intended 
the army should go to sea. 

''Join the Navy and See the World," has induced many a poor 
boob to forget that his creator never intended him to be a fish. "Join 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 183 

the Navy and See Your Breakfast Twice,'' would never entir-y the 
younger generation from the farm. For ten minutes, two years ago 
] was undecided whether to enlist in the army or the navy. For once 
I exhibited some sense, but I deliberated ten minutes and I hold that 
against myself. The delay was entirely uncalled for, "Rolling 
deep," "raging billows," ,' bounding main," and a few other of 
those salty phrases sound romantic all right but they are nothing 
more or less than some skipper's propaganda. Old Solomon Gills, 
and I are of one mind regarding the sea. Remember? — in Dombey 
and Son? — "As to the sea," he told Wally, "that's Avell enough in 
fiction but it won't do in fact — it won't do at all." No, it won't do 
a-tall. If the United States ever gets into another war and w^ants me 
the game will have to be played on the home grounds or else some- 
body will have to build a bridge. 

I don't know what got into me this trip. Going to France I 
wasn't a bit sick and we had considerable rough weather. It was a 
February crossing and a northern route. And I am quite used to 
water, too. I have been around water since I was a boy, made lots 
of trips on all kinds of craft on theLakes ; sailed one time from New 
Orleans to Colon and coming back was in a regular hurricane, and 
I was never seasick. 

We cleared from Brest at 8 o'clock in the morning May 1st in 
rain and mist and we ran into the worst kind of a sea in the Baj^ of 
Biscay. This old six- or seven-million-dollar hulk wallowed around 
in the trough of the sea and finally headed west inclination forty- 
some-odd degrees either up or down. It would be better when we 
got out into the ocean some "gob" assured us, but as a weather fore- 
caster he is a good blacksmith. We ran into a storm outside, and the 
Bay of Biscay had been as a plowed field in Kansas is to the Rocky 
Mountain range. One afternoon from 12 o'clock until 6 P.M. we 
made as much as thirty-six miles. A quad truck mixed up in a con- 
voy of artillery tractors advancing thru the Argonne forest could do 
better than that. 

Still I wasn't sick. Of the 1402 soldiers aboard this craft 1400 
were sick soldiers, feeding the Spanish mackerel. Even some of the 
gobs wished they were back home on the farm. Another wise bird 
and myself put on the old salt expression and paraded the decks 
pitying the poor land-lubbers who were wishing they had remained 
in the service in France. Sealegs? — I had 'em. The bigger the waves 
the better I thought I liked it. 



184 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

And then I got it ! The fourth day out the bottom fell out of 
everything. I can't imagine what happened to me. Ordinarily I 
would think it was something I ate, but we don't get anything to 
eat. I remained on deck until it became dark, swallowing great 
mouthfuls of fresh air and converting it into a yellow-greenish sub- 
stance. Someway, I managed to crawl down to my bed. We sleep 
in hammocks arranged in tiers of threes which are hauled up to the 
ceiling during the daytime and let down at night. There are seventy- 
four hammocks in our casemate, which is about twenty by thirty feet 
and seven feet high. My hammock is a lower on the edge of a small 
open area. It is really a desirable bunk compared to locations some 
of the men drew. There is good ventilation besides the benefit of the 
open space. 

But there is an iron pillar that stands directly in the course of 
my swinging hammock. It stands far enough away so that a collision 
occurs only when the ship makes an unusual lurch. That night of 
my probably fatal illness I staggered down the companionway and 
groped my way between the swaying beds of that madhouse, manag- 
ing to fall into my own dizzy bunk. Back and forth I swayed until 
the seventh wave. I thought the ship had struck a floating mine, at 
least I hoped so, The blow caught me directly above my right eye 
and the flares and flashes equaled anything I saw at the front. My 
next sensation was that of falling. On the rebound I had fallen out of 
the other side of that darned hammock. 

I made measurements and now nights when I go to bed I wrap 
my sweater around the post just at the right height so that it acts 
as a pad when in what I imagine to be my last throes of agony, I 
loan my head over the side of that bunk and reach for the recept- 
acle some sailor has so kindly provided for my use. 

I wonder how long a person can live with everything going out 
and nothing coming in. This is said to be a fifteen-day trip. Ex- 
actly fifteen-months from the day we sailed from the United States 
we sailed from France for home, which suggests the remark that I 
would rather be in the army fifteen months than in the navy fifteen 
days, and I mean it. 

7 May. 
Still alive with quite remarkable prospects for complete recovery. 
The principal thing now is to get something to eat. The nourish- 
ment we receive aboard this boat may be all right for a sailor, but 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 185 

personally I would like a meal occasionally. The sun came out today 
and the sea is comparatively calm. We are in the Gulf Stream and 
it is quite warm. I sat on the deck for hours occasionally trusting 
my pins to a stroll the length of the ship and back. However, I am 
afraid to exercise for fear of creating an appetite. Tomorrow I in- 
tend spending the day below smoking cigarettes and reading, trying 
to kill this terrible hunger. Actually I could eat the tin otf a can of 
corn willy. 

To get my mind off my stomach I will tell of our trip from Ger- 
many. Our moving order stating the exact day and hour was not 
received until April 15. The movement of the division was scheduled 
to start the 18th. We had been anxiously awaiting that order for 
weeks. For days we knew all about the trip. Division headquarters, 
or somebody connected with it, told us everything. 

We were to travel from the Rhine to Brest in American box- 
cars in sixty hours, and as we had completed all our passenger lists 
and other paper work we would load directly on the George Wash- 
ington, Imperator, or some other six- or seven-day boat. From New 
York we would entrain immediately for Camp Grant and be dis- 
charged within forty-eight hours. We would be home by May 4th. 
Raptures ! 

Everything worked out just as contemplated with the exception 
of a few minor details. In the first place, our Ammunition Train did 
not leave Heimbach until April 21. Our section entrained at Nied- 
erbieber, departing at midnight in box-cars that were American only 
because they had been turned over to the American A.O. by the Boche. 
The sixty-hour ride was extended to eighty-hours in order that all 
the hard-bread and corn-beef hash on the train could be consumed. 
There was quite a lot left over when the sixty-hours was up. 

So that we could tell the folks back home how nice everything is 
now at Camp Pontanezen, Brest, we were allowed to remain there 
five days. The George Washington being engaged in carrying back 
to the United States one complete set of Arguments to Combat Objec- 
tions to the League of Nations, and the Imperator held up by adverse 
winds or criticism or something, we submitted to a hitch in the navy, 
never expecting to be taken seriously. 

Our six-day crossing will take fifteen days at least, we are told ; 
the Louisiana takes us to Newport News instead of New York; and, 
instead of entraining directly from the boat we are to be held at the 
port of debarkation for five days. It seems now we are to be split 



186 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

up into demobilization camp detachments at Newport News, instead 
of having that job completed on the boat as intended, and we must 
be deloused once more. It is more than a week since we were de- 
loused and we have gone thru only three cootie inspections aboard 
ship, so I suppose we must be in a disgraceful condition. 

I haven't any idea how long it takes to travel from Virginia to 
Illinois these modern days, and when we do finally arrive at Camp 
Grant I wouldn't be a bit surprised if we were put to doing squads 
east and west, so I don't know when we will get back to Wisconsin. 

Y' understand I'm not kicking; fact is I am tickled to death to 
even be headed west; but I dislike being kidded. I suspicion Fate or 
some other power of putting something over on us now that time is 
so valuable. Time to a soldier is not supposed to matter. What's 
time to a soldier? He has lots of it. Ordinarily it doesn't make 
much difference whether the day of the month be the 4th or 24th, 
or the month June or December, but at this crisis every minute counts. 
The United States goes dry at midnight June 30; and here we are — 

seventeen hundred miles from land. 

* * # * 

8 May. 

Had beans and catsup for breakfast today which is quite an im- 
provement over the beans and tapioco of yesterday morning. I 
wonder who devises the meals aboard this ship — the combinations are 
so unusual. One time at a kermiss Avhere I stayed over night I had 
prune pie, beef stew and a quart bottle of beer set before me for 
breakfast. That was my farthest north in breakfasts until I got on 
this battleship. If I can only retain this appetite of mine one month 
after I am out of the army I will feel repaid for the inability to sat- 
isfy it now. 

Things are breaking a little better today. We went over the 
"hump" last night and it is all down hill the rest of the way. It 
took an awful long time to get half way but from now on it will 
be smooth sailing. Had a scare today. Some comedian started a tale 
to the effect that the U.S.S. Georgia, which is twelve hours ahead of 
us, had a broken crankshaft, or propeller shaft, or whatever -you-call- 
it, and the Louisiana would have to stand by when she caught up un- 
til repairs were made on the sister ship. The story was disgustingly 
believed until this same cheerful gloom-getter spread another report 
to the effect that the U.S.S. Kansas, which is twelve hours behind us, 
had a puncture, or leaking radiator, or something, and we had to 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 187 

check our speed and wait for her. This last one was too much for 
my shattered nerves so I went to one of the ship's officers and got 
set on the right course. We are gaining on the Georgia and leaving 
the Kansas behind and they should worry, not us, he explained. It 
is 3290 miles from Brest to Newport News ; we have made 1886 miles 
and are picking up speed every hour. We will be making 300 miles 
a day from now on, maybe. 

The trip isn't so bad after all; in fact, excepting the slow pro- 
gress, it hasn't been half-bad, to be perfectly fair. The train ride 
from Germany across France was not near as tiresome as I had ex- 
pected it to be. Even the five days we spent at CampPontanezen came 
to an end in time. 

I want to tell of the anguish and torn hearts we left behind in 
Germany. Our outfit lived in Heimbach just as the other U.S. outfits 
lived in scores of other German toM^ns in that area, so I presume the 
experiences of all of us are similar. 

We lived in the homes of the Germans but had our own mess. 
We slept in their beds. Members of Heimbach 's male population be- 
tween the ages of six and sixty years gave up their beds without a 
murmur to the soldiers — by order of the American army. So Ave 
lived right in their homes and privately fraternized as much as we 
pleased regardless of all orders to the contrary, tho in public we 
ignored the natives. The day before we left was a busy time among 
the households of Heimbach. In every home in which soldiers were 
living there was much baking and cooking going on, and as the col- 
umns marched away the next morning nearly every soldier was bur- 
dened with a bundle of German cooking of some kind, adding con- 
siderable weight to his already overloaded souvenir-stuffed pack. 
There had actually been many tearful farewells. Women had cried 
and ex-Boche soldats had shaken hands as tho they were losing life- 
long friends. The population lined the streets waving handkerchiefa 
and shouting ' ' goodbyes. ' ' 

The remembrance of that pall of gloom which chokes Germany 
since our departure almost brings tears to my eyes. The sad parting 
was so sincere. They implied that their sorrow was caused not be- 
cause we were Americans going home, nor because we might go back 
to the United States and tell how wonderfully kind and generous are 
the German people ; but that it was because of our own endeared in- 
dividual selves, so like the German people themselves. 

When we came to Heimbach we were welcomed with joy; we 



188 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

left it in tears. When the American outfit that was there ahead of us 
left for home they too were sped on their way with the kindest of 
wishes, taking with them the impression of leaving behind aching 
hearts of a sorrowing people. But one outfit of the Second Division, 
U.S.A., which succeeded us in the hearts of Heimbach, will leave there 
with no such notion in their noodle. 

The people of Heimbach knew for weeks we were leaving shortly 
and believed we were to be the last troops to occupy their town. They 
arrived at this belief by the fact that there was no other division com- 
ing up into the Army of Occupation to relieve the Thirty-Second. 
But what they didn't know was that the First and Second Divisions 
were to spread out and take over our territory. Before we were fully 
out of Heimbach an artillery outfit of the Second began pulling in. 
The tearful countenances reverted to the natural Hun type. 

Coming out of Germany we traveled back thru the beautiful 
Moselle valley and from Metz we went down thru the St. Mihiel area. 
We were not in the St. Mihiel drive, excepting in army reserve, so 
this trip gave us an opportunity to see the job the American troops 
did in that short but effective and important battle. We were in 
Pont-a-Mousson noon of the second day of our trip and our route 
across France was thru Nancy, Toul, Neuf chateau, Chaumont, Auxerre, 
Bourges, St. Aignan, Tours, LeMans, Leval, Rennes, Montford, St. 
Brieuc, Brest. 

Our German box-cars were quite warm and comfortable and the 
variety of the ever-changing scenery made the time pass more quick- 
ly than does the eternal and infernal sameness of the ocean with its 
ever-present westerly wind. Our train consisted of fifty box-cars ex- 
clusive of the cook and baggage cars, and while we had two regular 
meals each day we had with us for the frequent emergency a plenti- 
ful supply of our old John D. Standby — hardbread and corn willy. 

From the unfavorable publicity given conditions at Camp Pont- 
anezen, Brest, I was very much surprised at what we found. Pont- 
anezen, to me, appeared a wonderful camp. While there we lived in 
pyramidal tents equipped with Sibley stoves with a plentiful supply 
of wood and coal at hand; meals were very good with "Boo-Koo 
Seconds" as a large sign reads. Inspections, bathing schedules and 
issues of clothing were put thru with a speed and a system I had 
never before suspected within the army. 

Considering the rapidity with which the camp was built and 
organized, and I understand that practically all the work was done 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 189 

since last January, I cannot understand why the "big kick" was 
made. The only complaint worthy of consideration is why the work 
of constructing the camp was not started sooner. There is one un- 
satisfactory condition at Brest that cannot be attributed to the 
army, nor to any other human agency, and it cannot be remedied. It 
rains at Brest, just as it does all over northern France, practically all 
of the time. No camp in the world can be made ideal in a region 
where duck boards are as necessary to a soldier's navigation as web 
feet are to duck's. 

* # # # 

10 May. 

We are nearer our destination than we thought. Naval orders, 
like those of the army, are subject to change at any moment, up- 
setting all calculations. A radio received about midnight changed 
our destination to New York. It shortens our voyage and we ought 
to reach port in time to unload next Tuesday morning. We go to 
Camp Merrit. Everybody on board is happy with the exception of 
a few married men who wired their respective wives to meet them 
at Newport News. It costs $1.60 for a ten-word radio to Newark, N. 
J., besides the "collect" the wife in Wisconsin pays for the relay 
telegram. 

This is Saturday afternoon and a half-holiday aboard ship. The 
sun is bright and the sea quite calm. The ship's photographer is a 
busy man. Aft on the gun deck we are to have boxing and wrestling 
matches at 2 o'clock. In the superstructure on the weather deck 
there is a movie already in action. Across the way from the movie 
the ship's orchestra and an able-bodied seamen's quartette are en- 
tertaining the movie overflow. This is certainly a gay life. 

* * m # 

12 May 
Had a very stormy Sunday and a wretched night. We ar« 
anxious for tomorrow to come for it will be all over. We unload at 
Pier No. 2, Hoboken, at 3 P.M. Seas mountain high, driven by a 
gale that howled like a March blizzard, washed over our ship all 
day long; and with hatches battered down we were forced to spend 
the day, and the night, in the stuffiness and heat between decks. We 
had wretched weather for our trip with the exception of but two 
days. The storm of yesterday, bad as it was, makes our landing to- 
morrow possible. The storm was out of the east and drove us before 



190 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

it. Each wave kicked us a little farther on our way. Had it not 
been for the storm we would not have docked until Wednesday. 

We are glad it is all so nearly over. Great as is the army we are 
anxious to live our own individual lives without restraint. We want 
to sleep and we want to eat the way we want. We want to live the 
way we want and meet real folks and talk to them in a language 
where we don't have to shake our heads or wave our arms to make 
them understand. It has been a long drag. We are tired. It has 
been a wonderful, wonderful experience, but we are glad it is already 
experience and not anticipation. 

["FINI"] 



APPENDIX 



ENLISTED PERSONNEL 
One Hundred Seventh Ammunition Train 



TRAIN HEADQUARTERS 

Regtl. Sgt. Major Walter W. Singer, Port Washington, Wis. 

Regtl. Sgt. Major George B. Kendall, Plymouth, Wis. 

Regtl. Sup. Sgt. Edw. Naus, Sheboygan, Wis. 

Regtl. Sup. Sgt. Fred E. Rothermel, Plainfield, Wis. 

Sergt. Victor Ferry, Providence, R. I. 

Sergt. Louis B. Oxley, Oklahoma. 

Sgt. Oswald E. Callan, Platteville, Wis. 

Cpl. Asa T. Bearse, Atlanta, Ga. 

Cpl. Richard J. Rothermel, Plainfield, Wis. (Killed in action Oct. 5, 1918). 

Cpl. Frank A. Rothermel, Plainfield, Wis. 

Cpl. .Tames V. Garland, Huntington, W. Va. 

Cook Edward J. Frank, Red Granite, Wis. 

Wag. Ben W. Ferguson, Crandon, Wis. 

Wag. Peter A. Madsen, California. 

Pvt. Icl. Thomas J. Connally, New York City. 

Pvt. Icl. Arthur L. Dubke, Plainfield, Wis. 

Pvt. Icl. Emil Ebeling, Cole Camp, Wis. 

Pvt. Icl. Doyle E. Stock, Montpelier, Idaho. 

Pvt. Icl. Ether C. Wolfley, Afton, Wyoming. 

Pvt. Icl. William E. Wiehr, California. 

Pvt. Icl. William McClusky, Clovis, New Mexico. 

Pvt. Joe V. Burdette, Seattle, Washington. 

Pvt. Elmer R. Williams, Indiana. 

Pvt. Melvin E. Warner, Jump River, Wis. 

Reg. Sgt. Maj. James P.Woods, Madison, Wis. (Commissioned 2nd Lieut.) 

Sgt. Walter E. Bauer, Milwaukee, Wis. (Commissioned 2nd Lieut.) 



MOTOR HEADQUARTERS 

Olson, Wallace R., Reg. Sup. Sgt., Edgerton, Wis. (Died Sept. 26, 1918. Lo- 
bar Pneumonia.) 

Pondelick, Raymond M., Reg. Sup. Sgt., Hartford, Wis. (Commissioned 
2nd Lieut. 

Wendell, James C, Reg. Sup. Sgt., Hartford, Wis. 

Acker, John C, Bn. Sgt. Maj, Sturgeon Bay, Wis. 



192 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 



Beerer, Roy M., Sgt., Hartford, Wis. 
Neacy, Clarence B., Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Waite, James R., Sgt., Aberdeen, S. D. 
Parma, Emil J., Sgt., Two Rivers, Wis. 
Shanahan, George, Cpl., Healdsburg, Cal. 
iStai, Roy O., Cpl., Black River Falls, Wis. 
Babbitz, John B., Cook, Dale, Wis. 
Heder, Hugo V., Cook. Hartford, Wis. 
Bancroft, Forrest B., Wag., Cambridge, Mass. 
Brevik, Adolph N., Wag., Harvey, N. D. 
Collins, Cyril F., Wag., Ferndale, Cal. 
Hammer, Peter T., Wag., Odin, Minn. 
Hesselbein, Alfred, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kunkel, George E., Wag., Fessenden, N. D. 
James, Virgil, M., Wag., Hillsboro, Ala. 
Johnston, John B., Wag., Clare, Mich. 
Veum, Russell, Wag., Owattona, Minn. 
Anderson, William, Pvt. lcl.,Saxeville, Wis. 
Carollo, John, Pvt. Icl., Redgranite, Wis. 
Fournier, Arthur J., Pvt. Icl, Rumford, Maine. 
Henderson, David H.,Pvt. Icl, Lime Springs, Iowa. 
Mayfield, Ethel H., Pvt. Icl, Raleigh, Miss. 
McCall, Thomas P., Pvt. Icl, St. Paul, Kansas. 
Melton, Mike, Pvt. Icl, Redgranite, Wis. 



HORSED HEADQUARTERS 

Fritzen, J. C, Reg. Sup. Sgt., Neenah, Wis. 
Reimer, P. J., Bn. Sgt. Maj., Neenah, Wis. 
Parmenter, Ronald E., Bn. Sgt. Maj., Neenah, Wis. (Commissioned 2nd 

Lieut.) 
Gaffney, J. P., Sgt., Stanley, Wis. 
Brothen, Roy, Sgt., Stanley, Wis. 
Louis Larson, Sgt., Stanley, Wis. 
Parker, C. A., Sgt., Boyd, Wis. 
Gardner, C. D., Cpl., Platteville, Wis. 
Slothower, D. W., Cpl., Platteville, Wis. 
Lynn, Paul, Cpl., Crandon, Wis. 
Olson, V. G., Pvt. Icl, Stanley, Wis. 
Vesser, Leo, Stanley, Wis. 
Risic, H. D , Platteville, Wis. 
Rlattie, Joseph, Bugler, Menasha, Wis. 
Oyer, K. B., Lancaster, Wis. 
Podvin, William, Stanley, Wis. 
Hall, H. M., Peru, Ind. 
Helker, H. C, Platteville, Wis. 
Kadingo, Joseph, Stanley, Wis. 
Nelson, C. A., Wag., Boyd, Wis. 
Sikorski, F. L., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Ferguson, Benjamin W., Cpl., Crandon, Wis. 
Solie, Henry D., Cpl., Stanley, Wis. 
Scott, George D.,Pvt. Icl, Neenah, Wis. 
Sweet, Foster L., Pvt. Icl, Stanley, Wis. 
Solie, George, Pvt. Icl, Stanley, Wis. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 193 

VETERINARY DETACHMENT 



McLean, P. E., Saginaw, Mich. 
Sweeney, A. L., New London, Wis 
Tierney, A. H., Detroit, Mich. 



ORDNANCE DETACHMENT 



Kuntz. Phillip, Ord. Sgt.. Stanley, Wis. 
Staffeld, Alvin A., Ord. Sgt., Neenah, Wis. 
Forby, Winthrop C, Ord. Sgt., Zion City, 111. 
Moen, Tollef A., Sgt., Stoughton, Wis. 
Biron, Louis S., Sgt., Rice Lake, Wis. 
Frey, Herman, W., Marshall, Wis. 
Sabin, Raymond M., Cpl., Hayward. Wis. 
Stencel. Albert, Cpl., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Barron, James E., Cpl., Platteville, Wis. 
Keiber, Irving F., Cpl., West Liberty, Ohio. 
Rineer, Edgar P., Cpl., Woodland, Cal. 
Kaiser, Gordon A., Pvt. Icl, Waterloo, Wis. 
Peters, Fay C, Pvt. Icl, Waterlook, Wis. 
Stonesifer, William M., Pvt. Icl, Centralia. 111. 
Virchow, Alvin E., Pvt. Icl, Sun Prairie, Wis. 
Kroncke, Arthur E., Pvt. Icl, Sun Prairie, Wis. 
Beth, William H.. Pvt., Green Bay, Wis. 
Flint, Archie O., Neenah, Wis. 
Prank, Arthur E., Pvt., Baraboo, Wis. 
Goetz, Fred W., Pvt., Stratford, Wis. 
Kammers, Louis S., Pvt., Hayward, Wis. 
Munro, Hugh K., Pvt., Cambridge, Wis. 
Peters, Ernest S., Pvt., Blue River, Wis. 



MEDICAL DETACHMENT 



Haas, Frank S., Sgt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Patterson, Robert P., Sgt., Lake Trobe, Pa. 
Winiecke, Edward S., Sgt., Saginaw, Mich. 
Wojcek, Andrew, Pulaski, Wis. 
Smuczkrewicz, Vincent, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Lamb John I., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Mehegan, Charles J., Sgt., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Gather, Robert L., Cleveland, Ohio. 
Caldwell, Royo H., Sulphur Springs, Texas. 
Martinez, Ambrosio. Belasde, N. Mex. 
Jastrozembski, Anton, Detroit, Mich. 
Allen, Melvin W., Kalamazoo. Mich. 
Van Dusen, Emory B., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Bacon, Gerald H., Austin, Texas. 
Bowers, Ray E., Geneva. N. Y. 
Price James D., Edwardsville, Pa. 
Grabill, Harold G., Grand Rapids, Mich. 
Sandoval, Joseph T., Los Ventouor, New Mex. 
Billings, Henry M., Platteville, Wis. 



194 THEU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 



Levine, Morris, South Fork, Pa. 
Hanna Glenn L., Chardon, Ohio. 
Howard William C, Moody, Texas. 
Shaw, Boyd M., Frost, Texas. 
Thirkell, Clarence H., Cleveland, Ohio. 
Buesse Paul E., Webster Grove, Mo. 
Romero, Estebau, S., Antonichico, N. Mex. 
Salos, Gregroio, Penabona, N. Mex. 
Romero, Leonardo, Trenchas, N. Mex. 
Martinez, Bonifacio, Lucero, N. Mex. 
Freeman, Joseph, Fairburg, Nebraska. 



COMPANY A 

Jankowski, Henry A., 1st Sgt., Menasha, Wis. 
Gaertner, Henry P., Sgt., Menasha, Wis. 
Lewandowski, Edward H., Sgt., Menasha, Wis. 
Sieber, Fred, Sgt., Tilleda, Wis. 
Gaard, Selmar N., Sgt., Boyceville, Wis. 
Milsap, Wallace J., Sgt., Shawano, Wis. 
Zielinski, Michael J., Sgt., Menasha, Wis. 
Kellnhauser, Henry A., Sgt., Menasha, Wis. 
Hill, Earl J., Sgt., Menasha, Wis. 
Adam, Bruce C, Corp., Marlette, Mich. 
Andersen, Clarence, Corp., Neenah, Wis. 
Baenke, Oliver A., Corp., Menasha, Wis. 
Henk, Raymond M., Corp., Menasha, Wis. 
Lornson, Russell, A., Corp., Menasha, Wis. 
Luka, Harry, Corp., Menasha, Wis. 
Melcher, John C, Corp., Menasha, Wis. 
Mericle, George H., Corp., Menasha, Wis. 
Remich, Lyall N., Corp., Menasha, Wis. 
Remmel, Leslie A., Corp., Menasha, Wis. 
Rosenow, Albert, Corp., Menasha, Wis. 
Scanlon, John R., Corp., Menasha, Wis. 
Schmidt, Clarence C, Corp., Menasha, Wis. 
Schmitzer, William J., Corp., Menasha, Wis. 
Riechl, Frank, Corp., Menasha, Wis. 
Wieckert, Harold E., Corp., Neenah, Wis. 
Lewandowski, Dennis, Cook, Menasha, Wis. 
ScheflBer, John, Cook, Menasha, Wis. 
Malenofsky, George, Cook, Menasha, Wis. 
Diedrick, Joseph, Chief Mec, Chassel, Mich. 
Aller, Fred, Wagoner, St. Clair Heights, Mich. 
Baenke, Alfred, Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 
Calder, James, Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 
Calder, John C., Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 
Cole, Earl W., Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 
Flenz, Emil, Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 
Gamsky, John T., Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 
Heinz, Edward C. F., Wagoner, Nekoosa, Wis. 
Jaskolske, George, Wagoner, Green Bay, Wis. 
Jedwabny, Anton, Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 
Konetzke, Ben A., Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 
Konetzke, Frank L., Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 195 

Kozlowski, Frank J., Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 

LaSalle, Calice R., Wagoner, Iron Mountain, Mich. 

Latondress, Edward J., Wagoner, Iron Mountain, Mich. 

Lefave, Joseph M., Wagoner, Oconto, Wis. 

Lefave, Thomas, Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 

Norton, James A., Wagoner, Columbia, So. Dakota. (Decorated for bravery 
in action at Juvigny, Sept. 2, 1918. Croix de Guerre and Distinguished 
Service Cross.) 

Panfil, Victor, Wagoner, Crivitz, Ellis Junction, Wis. 

Pukall, Henry F., Wagoner, Birnamwood, Wis. 

Rands, Oswin P., Wagoner, Rexburg, Idaho. 

Ryan, George T., Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 

Scheleski, John A., Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 

Scovronske, Leo, Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 

Seksetarski, Frank, Wagoner, Chicago, 111. 

Skalmoski, Frank, Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 

Steffenhagen, Carl F., Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 

Steft'ens, Joe, Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 

Ulrich, Carl, Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 

Urban, John J., Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 

Ziolkowsky, Joe, Wagoner, Menasha, Wis. 

Coveney, Earl W., Bugler, Pairbault, Minn. 

Martin, Clarence H., Bugler, Frontier, Wyo. 

Bodner, George, Pvt Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Cooper, Conrad W., Pvt. Icl, Canton, Ohio. 

Dalton, Cliff, Pvt. Icl, Lawrenceville, Ga. 

Duerrwachter, Emil J., Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Erdall, Oscar E., Pvt. Icl, Meeteetse, Wyo. 

Fenske, Emil A., Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Penske, Fred, Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Flenz, Albert, Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Flenz, Ferdinand F., Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Geisler, Fred J., Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Heckner, Andrew, Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Heckner, Fred, Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Kill. Tracy J., Pvt. Icl, Cody, Wyo. 

Kozlowski, Ben, Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Marquardt, Richard, Pvt. Icl, Fremont, Wis. 

Martin, Edgar, Pvt. Icl, Benton, Mont. 

Miller, Charles R., Pvt. Icl, Hotchkiss, Colo. 

Mottl, Joseph P., Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

O'Brein, Earl B., Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Pawley, William, Pvt. Icl, Cody, Wyo. 

Poe, Joseph M., Pvt, Icl, Covina, Calif. 

Powell, David, Pvt. Icl, Scranton, Penn. 

Raleigh, Walter J., Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. (Decorated for bravery in ac- 
tion at Juvigny, Sept. 2, 1918. Croix de Guerre and Distinguished 
Service Cross.) 

Richardson, Ben, Pvt. Icl, Tyvon, Sack, Canada. 

Rieschl, John, Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Robinson, Edwin M., Pvt. Icl, Ferguson, Mo. 

Rohrer, Leviette D., Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Shedlewski, John P., Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. (Decorated for bravery in ac- 
tion at Juvigny, Sept. 2, 1918. Croix de Guerre and Distinguished 
Service Cross.) 

Steffens, Charles, Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Suchodolski, Joseph J., Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 



196 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 



Suchodolski, Leo V., Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Tennessen, Harvey J., Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Tratz, Arthur H., Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Tratz, Edward C, Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Wisnefski, Stephen J., Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. 

Brown, Clinton H., Pvt., Akron, Ohio. 

Bussell, Melvin J., Pvt., Durand, Mich. 

Chapleau, William, Pvt., Menasha, Wis. 

Chism, Buford V., Pvt., Oklahoma City, Okla. 

Cookson, Edward W., Pvt., Cleveland, Ohio. 

Daniher, John P., Pvt., Ransom, 111. 

Dunsworth, Thomas M., Pvt., Brownswood, Texas. 

Godward, BerfF., Pvt., Los Angeles, Calif. 

Greenwood, William L., Pvt., Shellsburg, Iowa. 

Grigsby, John B., Pvt., Davenport, Okla. 

Halley, Charles M., Pvt., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Halterman, James O., Pvt., Franklin, Ohio. 

Hansen, Peter C, Pvt., Yuma, Colo. 

Hanson, Olaf H., Pvt., Starbuck, Minn. 

Henrich, Vincent C, Pvt., Massillon, Ohio. 

Hover, William M., Pvt., Lamenceville, Va. 

Jones, Orbin C, Pvt., White Cloud, Kas. 

Lewis, Stanley, Pvt., Cleveland, Ohio. 

Mackin, James, Private, Menasha, Wis. 

McCain, Gordan J., Pvt., Atwood, Kas. 

McCrossen, Harold D., Pvt., Detroit, Mich. 

Miller, Floyd H., Pvt., Canfield, Ohio. 

Mumma, Clarence C, Pvt., Bluffton Allen, O. 

Murphy, Harold T., Pvt., Cleveland, Ohio. 

Odom, Chafin A., Pvt., Sanford, No. Carolina. 

Porter Jared, Pvt., Escalante, Utah. 

Ray, John W., Pvt., Corinth, Miss. 

Rea, John T., Pvt., Queensland, Australia. 

Sanderson, Alfred W., Pvt., Detroit, Mich. 

Schrieber, Ben J., Pvt., Menasha, Wis. 

Shafar, Edward B., Meridan, Idaho. 

Skalmosky, Ben, Pvt., Menasha, Wis. 

Slapnicka, Charles O., Pvt., Cleveland, Ohio. 

Snyder, Charles M., Pvt., Atwater, Ohio. 

Strom, Carl Oscar, Pvt., Taylor, No. Dakota. 

Stovall, Harry M., Pvt., Gillett, Ark. 

Uriens, Roy F., Pvt., Casper, Wyo. 

Sutter, Oliver, Pvt., Fostoria, Ohio. 

Wallace, Harvey R., Pvt., Alliance, Ohio. 

^Vard, Urell, Pvt., Hiram, Mo. 

Wilson, Levin D., Pvt., Mize, Miss. 

Wheeler, Franklin E., Pvt., Akron, Ohio. 

White, Milton, Pvt., Handley, W. Va. 

Woolstenhulme, George S, Pvt., Duggs, Idaho. 

Wysong, Commodore, Pvt., Carryhurst, Wyo. 

Carrick, Kenneth. Sgt., Menasha, Wis., (Wounded) 

Shedlewiski, Harry W., Cpl., Menasha, Wis (Transfrd). 

Johnson, Henry C, Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. (Transfrd) 

Rowmiel, Leslie A., Pvt. Icl, Menasha, Wis. (Transfrd) 

Grebb, Delbert E., Pvt. Icl, Shawano, Wis. (Transfrd), 

O'Brien, Michael F., Pvt., Menasha, Wis. (Transfrd). 

Schrieber, Ben J., Pvt., Menasha, Wis. (Transfrd). 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 197 

COMPANY B 

Theisen. Edwin J., 1st Sgt., Schleisingerville, Wis. 

Baumgartl, Joseph M., Mess Sgt., Hartford, Wis. 

Voight, Alvin B., Supply Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Kreutz, Peter C, Sgt., Hartford, Wis. 

Gibson, George J., Sgt., Grand Rapids, Wis. 

Krueger, Henry R., Sgt., Waukesha, Wis. 

Weber, John J., Sgt., Hartford, Wis. 

Lohr, Herbert F., Sgt., Hartford, Wis. 

Leidiger, Erich F., Sgt., Fall Creek, Wis. 

Connors, Earl J., Sgt., Hartford, Wis. 

Roe, James J., Cpl., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Spoerke, Dennis W., Cpl., Oconomowoc, Wis. 

Campbell, Norman A., Cpl., Hartford, Wis. 

Chapman, Harry D., Cpl., Jacksonville, 111. 

Christman, Raymond P., Cpl., Hartford, Wis. 

Doster, Charles C, Cpl., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Hahn, Clarence O., Cpl., Hartford, Wis 

Hays, Lloyd D., Cpl., Rubicon, Wis. 

Kruck, Emil, Cpl., Jefferson, Wis. 

Lechner, Tonie P., Cpl., Hartford, Wis. 

Lemke, Louis O., Cpl., Oshkosh, Wis. 

Loew, Arthur J., Cpl., Hartford, Wis. 

McCrathy, Leo A., Cpl., Fox Lake, Wis. 

Schaller, Michael P., Cpl., Hartford, Wis. 

Schroeder, Arthur F., Cpl., Sheboygan Falls, Wis. 

Serres, John E., Cpl., Hartford, Wis. 

Yaeger, Ernest, Cpl., Hartford, Wis. 

Black, Frank, Cook, Hartford, Wis. 

Schaller, Albert J., Cook, Hartford, Wis. 

Habel, William W., Cook, Ripon, Wis. 

Krueger, Paul A., Chief Mechanic, Fall Creek, Wis. 

Baier, Edward H., Wagoner, Hartford, Wis. 

Belanger. John V., Wagoner, Marinette, Wis. 

Brose, Erwin P., Wagoner, Hartford, Wis. 

Brown, Harry, Wagoner, Hartford, Wis. 

Brown, Herman, Wagoner, Hartford, Wis. 

Compton, Hallie V., Wagoner, Hartford, Wis. 

Cox, John R., Wagoner, Streator, 111. 

Deaver, Benjamin F., Wagoner, Marshalltown, Iowa. 

Gibson, Harry, Wagoner, Grand Rapids, Wis. 

Hahn, Hubert P., Wagoner, Hartford, Wis. 

Hamann, Fred, Wagoner, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Hoehn, Carl W., Wagoner, Fall Creek, Wis. 

Houston, Edward, Wagoner, Pittsville, Wis. 

Kramer, William P., Wagoner, Hansen, Wis. 

Koczorowski, Peter, Wagoner, Nolida, Ohio. 

Loos, Benjamin H., Wagoner, Hartford, Wis. 

Mashuda, Walter J., Wagoner, Princeton, Wis. 

McGinley, Harold T., Wagoner, Milwaukee, Wis. 

Ohrmund, Arthur P., Wagoner, Hartford, Wis. 

McGuire, Vincent C, Wagoner, Chicago, 111. 

Parent, Walter J., Wagoner, Chippewa Falls, Wis. 

Paskey, Walter O., Wagoner, Waupun, Wis. 

Place, Elmo F., Wagoner, Hartford, Wis. 



198 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

Raschka, Herbert, Wagoner, Hartford, Wis. 

Shinners, Joseph, Wagoner, Hartford, Wis. 

Sonnenburg, Emil, Wagoner, Hartford, Wis. 

Taplin, Raymond P., Wagoner, Wautoma, Wis. 

Tliompson, William, Wagoner, Sharon, Penn. 

Upham, Earl A., Wagoner, Hartford, Wis. 

Weber, Peter, Jr., Wagoner, Hartford, Wis. 

Wegner, Alvin, Wagoner, Wautoma, Wis. 

Zuleger, Benjamin F., Wagoner, Hartford, Wis. 

Braekevelt, Cyriel, Pvt. Icl, East Detroit, Mich. 

Cellan, Jacob R., Pvt. Icl, Crofton, Neb. 

Cornelison, Vernie R., Pvt. Icl, Knight, Wyo. 

Crosby, Earl, Pvt. Icl, Boulder, Colo. 

Enos, Frank E., Pvt Icl, Concord, Calif. 

Hahn, Raymond, Pvt. Icl, Hartford, Wis. 

Hansen, George O., Pvt. Icl, Linden, Mich. 

Holtz, Alfred, Pvt. Icl, Hartford, Wis. 

Jones, Roy R., Pvt. Icl, Cody, Wyo. 

Kincaid, Albert J., Pvt. Icl, Dayton, Wyo. 

Loos, Raymond, Pvt. Icl, Hartford, Wis. 

Lundgren, Alfred, Pvt. Icl, Bay Point, Calif. 

Mandis, Perechlis, Pvt. Icl, Pittsburg, Calif. 

McGinty, Charles F., Pvt. Icl, Oronville, Wash. 

Morrison, Roy P., Pvt. Id, St. Paul, Neb. 

Mullen, Howard, Pvt. Icl, Grand Rapids, Wis. 

Munsinger, Edwin, Pvt. Icl, Thermopolis, Wyo. 

Murphy, William H., Pvt. Icl, Blackwell, Wyo. 

Nell, Orly C, Pvt. Icl, Neosho, Wis. 

Newton, Frank C, Pvt. Icl, Marinette, Wis. 

Norman, Jack, Pvt. Icl, Gussarfshyttan, Kuista, Sweden. 

Phifer, Jack, Pvt. Icl, Seattle, Wash. 

Ponder, Boyd, Pvt. Icl, Juar Dior, New Mexico. 

Richard, Herman J., Pvt. Icl, Hartford, Wis. 

Saulnier, Augustus, Pvt. Icl, Haverhill, Mass. 

Simon, John A., Pvt. Icl, Hartford, Wis. 

Seitz, Fred J., Pvt. Icl, Hartford, Wis. 

Stevens, Hyrum E., Pvt. Icl, Mt. Vieu, Wyo. 

Sweet, Delmar, Pvt. Icl, Oakland, Calif. 

Thompson, Samuel, Pvt. Icl, Lone Tree, Wyo. 

Atkinson, Hallis F., Pvt., Buffalo, West Va. 

Barnes, John L., Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Barney, Frank C, Pvt., Lewiston, Mich. 

Bergin, Edward, Pvt., Cleveland, Ohio. 

Bernauer, Louis, Pvt., New York, N. Y. 

Best, Ross E., Pvt., Adena, Ohio. 

Binder, Ernest C, Pvt., Cleveland, Ohio. 

Claude, Howard, Pvt., Cleveland, Ohio, 

Cox, Benjamin F., Pvt., Orlando, Fla. 

Decker, Silas, Pvt., Holbrook, Ariz. 

DeShane, Milton, Pvt., Young, Ariz. 

Ferrell, Charles B., Pvt., Clarksville, Ark. 

Green, Maurice A., Pvt., Philadelphia, Pen 

Haroian, John W., Pvt., Portland, Me. 

Howe, George M., Pvt., Wallinford, Conn. 

Innis, Howard S., Pvt., Dorchester, Mass. 

Lepke, Edward W., Pvt., Cleveland, Wis. 

Levine, Jack, Pvt., Brooklyn, N. Y. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 199 



Lyskawinski. Martin, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

McGee, William B., Pvt., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Meaux, F. Fenwick, Pvt., Guyden, La. 

Merwin, George D., Pvt., Olivet, Mich. 

Monson, Ditlif, Pvt., Whitehall, Mont. 

Nichols, Louis H., Pvt., Dickinson, No. Dakota 

Polos. George H., Pvt., Asites, Crete. 

Price. Lewis, Pvt., Dayton, Ohio. 

Ratliff. Frank L., Pvt., Lynville, Iowa. 

Reidenbach, Ralph, F., Pvt., Cleveland, Ohio. 

Schaeffer, Abraham, Pvt., Bristol, Conn. 

Schweder, Oscar F., Pvt., Washington, D. C. 

Smith, Edward A., Pvt., Cleveland, Ohio. 

Sommerville, Thomas, Pvt., Merry Road, Amargh, Ireland 

Stoner, Austin, Pvt., Prescott, Mich. 

Taft, Samuel, Pvt., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Tarshis, Samuel, Pvt., Philadelphia. Penn. 

Thomas, Solon, Pvt., Losanos, New Mexico. 

Truman. Alton W., Pvt., Fairbault, Minn. 

Unger, Adolph, Pvt., New York, N. Y. 

Vernon, Willard C, Pvt., Keeline, Wyo. 

Weir. Arthur. J., Pvt., Sheepshead Bay, N. Y. 

Weisbarth, Edward C, Pvt., Cleveland, Ohio. 

Wilbert, Harry E., Pvt., Philadelphia, Pa 

Witowski, Ignacy, Pvt., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Zarck, Sol, Pvt., New York, N. Y. 

Courtney, John E., Pvt., Hartford, Wis. (Died Mar. 24. 1918, at General 

Hospital, St. McHenry, Md.) 
Askew, James A., Reg. Sup. Sgt., Port Washington, Wis. (Transferred). 
Grissman, John, Cook, Hartford, Wis. (Transferred). 
Beck. Paul T., Pvt. Icl, Elmwood, Ind. (Wounded in action at Chery Char- 

teves, August 12, 1918). 
Looney, William, Pvt., Belcher, Conn. (Wounded in action near Colonges, 

August 15, 1918). 
Trujillo, Paul, Pvt., (Wounded in action at Tartiers, August 28, 1918). 
Mck Davies, William, Pvt. (Wounded in action at Tartiers, Sept. 4, 1918). 
Brown, Albert, Pvt. Icl, Hartford, Wis. (Wounded in action at Esnes, 

September 24, 1918). 
Heimert, Emil F., Pvt., Three Oaks, Mich. (Wounded in action at Mont- 

faucon, October 9, 1918). 
Koczorowksi, Peter, Wagoner, Nolida, Ohio. (Wounded in action at Very, 

November 6, 1918). 
Harp, Walter, Wagoner, Hartford, Wis. (Transferred). 
Esser, Fred T., Pvt., Hartford, Wis. (Transferred). 
Laahs, William C, Pvt. Icl, Hartford, Wis. (Transferred). 
Knobel, Benjamin, Pvt., Hartford. Wis. (Transferred). 
Behrens, William, Pvt., Hartford, Wis. (Transferred). 
Blum, Joseph P., Pvt., Hartford, Wis. (Transferred). 
Loos, Edwin E., Pvt., Hartford, Wis. (Transferred). 
Martin, Lovell, Pvt., Hartford, Wis. (Transferred). 
Pontow, Otto A., Pvt., Hartford, Wis. (Transferred). 
Prautsch, Arthur O., Hartford, Wis. (Transferred). 
Uebele, William H., Hartford, Wis. (Transferred). 



200 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

COMPANY C 

McCoy, Robert C, 1st Sgt., Sparta, Wis. 

Rosenkrans, Milton C, Sup. Sgt., Hixton, "Wis. 

Amundsen, Christian, Mess Sgt., Black River Falls, Wis. 

Weeden, Donald S., Sgt., Waupaca, Wis. 

Jones, Robert L., Sgt., Black River Falls, Wis. 

Tucker, Gerald J., Sgt., Black River Falls, Wis. 

Anderson, Hakon, Sgt., Black River Falls, Wis. 

Horswill, Merlin C, Sgt., Black River Falls, Wis. 

Jones, Lawrence E., Sgt., Black River Falls, Wis. 

Parker, Oscar B., Sgt., Wenatchee, Wash, D. C. 

Caves, John O.. Chief Mech., Black River Falls, Wis. 

Hagen, Eilert M., Corp., Black River Falls, Wis. 

Heiser, Fred W., Corp., Platteville, Wis. 

Hanson, Oscar O., Corp., Northfleld, Wis. 

Kleven, Sven O., Corp., Black River Falls, Wis. 

Thomason, Dwight A., Corp., Holmen, Wis. 

Kimball, Joe M., Corp., Melrose, Wis. 

Greenlee, Eugene H., Corp., Black River Falls, Wis. 

Quackenbush, Frank H., Corp., Black River Falls, Wis. 

Hanson, Sigurd, Corp., Black River Falls, Wis. 

Johnson, George, Corp., Black River Falls, Wis. 

Nolop, Clyde N. Corp., Hixton, Wis. 

Spence, Samuel A., Corp., Melrose, Wis. 

Stephens, Harold, Corp., Livingston, Wis. 

ToUefson, James M., Corp., Black River Falls. Wis. 

Clatt, George W., Corp., Ettrick, Wis. 

Roseland, Alvie, Corp., Ettrick, Wis. 

Wortman, John, Corp., Disco, Wis. 

Gunderson, Aleck L., Cook, Bemidji, Minn. 

Wussow, George A., Cook, Black River Falls, Wis. 

Tjorstad, Lewis R., Cook, Taylor, Wis. 

Borreson, Oscar, Wagoner, Black River Falls, Wis. 

Capen, Edwin C, Wagoner, Black River Falls, Wis. 

Dell. Charles F., Wagoner, Black River Falls, Wis. 

Dutcher, Jess J., Wagoner, Melrose, Wis. 

Fifer. Hugh E., Wagoner, Millston, Wis. 

Pranks, Dana R., Wagoner, Millston, Wis. 

Glennie, Clayton R., Wagoner, North Bend, Wis. 

Hanson, Peter, Wagoner, Northfleld, Wis. 

Haralson, Earl M., Wagoner, Black River Falls, Wis. 

Harmon, Percy A., Wagoner, Black River Falls, Wis. 

Helbling, Harry A., Wagoner, Black River Falls, Wis. 

Knutson, John, Wagoner, Black River Falls, Wis. 

Kot. Peter J., Wagoner, Stanley, Wis. 

Larson, Clarence, Wagoner, Hixton, Wis. 

Larson, Oscar M., Wagoner, Hixton, Wis. 

Madsen. Walter, Wagoner, Wheeler, Wis. 

Messelt, Albert, Wagoner, Black River Falls, Wis. 

Olson, Albert M., Wagoner, Millston, Wis. 

Olson, Edwin, Wagoner, Melrose, Wis. 

Olson, Louis, Wgnr, Naustdal, Sandfjord, Bergen, Norway 

Olson, Nels E., Wagoner, lola. Wis., 

Paulson, Oscar, Wagoner, Osseo, Wis. 

Reynolds, Edrian A., Wagoner, Antigo, Wis. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 201 



Rinehart, Dan, Wagoner, Cashton, Wis. 

Sprester, Algie R., Wagoner, Black River Falls, Wis. 

Taylor, George L., Wagoner, Black River Falls, Wis. 

Thompson, Martin A., Wagoner, Northfield, Wis. 

Tweed, Victor, Wagoner, Northfield, Wis. 

Vennes, Alfred, Wagoner, Wheeler, Wis. 

Washatko, Frank .J., Wagoner, Almond, Wis. 

Wortman, Frank J., Wagoner, Disco, Wis. 

Zimmerman, Oscar, Wagoner, Fairchild, Wis. 

Berg, Tony, J., Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 

Berger, Glenn L., Pvt. Icl, Cologne, Minn. 

Bowers, Fred S., Pvt. Icl, Melrose, Wis. 

Carey, Lowell, Pvt. Icl, Fairmount, Iowa. 

Clatt, Henry L., Pvt. Icl, Ettrick, Wis. 

Corwin, Stanley E., Pvt. Icl, Milford, Ohio. 

Fowler, Grady, Pvt. Icl, Clyattville, Ga. 

Franklin, Wayne, Pvt. Icl, Oakland, Miss. 

Freeney, William E., Pvt. Icl, Carthage, Miss. 

Hanson, Albert O., Pvt. Icl, Black River Falls, Wis. 

Ibinger, John, Pvt. Icl, Black River Falls, Wis. 

Kleven, Arthur E., Pvt. Icl. Black River Tails, Wis. 

Krager, Arthur G., Pvt. Icl, Chippewa Falls, Wis. 

Malek, Bruno A., Pvt. Icl, Asliland. Wis. 

Mattson, Martin, Pvt. Icl, Melrose, Wis. 

McGonigal, Joseph, Pvt. Icl, Philadelphia, Penn. 

McNulty, William J., Pvt. Icl, Black River Falls, Wis. 

Molde, blaf O., Pvt. Icl, Black River Falls, Wis. 

Olson, Rudolph M., Pvt. Icl, Osseo, Wis. 

Orth, Myron P., Pvt. Icl, Redwood Falls, Minn. 

Robinson, William H., Pvt. Icl, Akron, Ohio. 

Roseland, John, Pvt. Icl, Ettrick, Wis. 

Schwachtgen, Felix E., Pvt. Icl, Amery, Wis. 

Sims. Ren C, Pvt. Icl, Melrose, Wis. 

Tomlinson, Jimmie, Pvt. Icl, Walnut, Miss. 

Wallen, Arthur S., Pvt. Icl, Taylor, Wis. 

Banks, Arza, Bugler, Corbers Ridge, 111. 

Alberto, Louis, Pvt., East New York, N. Y. 

Albrecht, Anthony H., Pvt., Cleveland, Ohio. 

Allard, Louis, Pvt., Evanston, Wyo. 

Asnin, Philip, Pvt., New York, N. Y. 

Baskin, Curtis L., Pvt., Drifton, Penn. 

Beilke, Clarence A., Pvt., Dysart, Iowa. 

Blake, Raymond F., Pvt., Conneaut, Ohio. 

Behm, Carl, Pvt., Cleveland, Ohio. 

Bowman, Charles N., Pvt., Violin, La. 

Brunt, Frederick A., West Haven, Conn. 

Carroll. William J., New York, N. Y. 

Carter, Robert P., Pvt., Brunswick, Maine. 

Celeste, Gustino, Pvt., Providence, R. I. 

Cbiocca, Antone P.. Pvt., Salians. Calif. 

Christopherson, Roy, Pvt., Afton, Wyo. 

Courell, Thomas R., Pvt., New York, N. Y. 

Crawford, John F., Pvt., Roxbury, Mass. 

Damm. Joseph, Pvt., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Flanell, Philip R., Pvt., New York, N. Y. 

Friedman, Edward F., Pvt., New York, N.' Y. 

Friedman, Irving, Pvt., Brooklyn, N. Y. 



202 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

Dunn, Hugh A., Pvt., Steubenville, Ohio. 

Gardella, Andrew, Pvt., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Graham, Alvin, Pvt., Thompsonville, 111. 

Guile, Albert M., Pvt., Little Rock, Ark. 

Heath, Ben F., Pvt., Portland, Ore. 

Hutchinson, Henry, Pvt., Steubenville, Ohio, 

Jensen, Merlin, Pvt., Fairview, Wyo. 

Keese, Charles, Pvt., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Korostoff, Nathan. Pvt., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Kuntz, Harry, Pvt., New York, N. Y. 

Lesser, Sidney, Pvt., New York, N. Y. 

Levine, John, Pvt., Chicago, 111. 

Lytle, William P., Pvt., Kinsman, Ohio. 

McGrath, Roy, Pvt., Thermopolis, Wyo. 

Miller, Adolph, Pvt., Cleveland, Ohio. 

O'Rourke, John, Pvt., New York, N. Y. 

Pagano, Antonio, Pvt., Long Island City, N. Y. 

Sassano, Patsy, Pvt., Cusson, Penn. 

Scheuring, Henry, Pvt., Brooklyn. N. Y. 

Schuster, Leo, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Sibley, Harry E., Pvt., Farmington, Maine. 

Simuro, Joseph E., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Smiley, Charles C, Pvt., Rea, Penn. 

Stone, Hyman, Pvt., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Timmons, Charles, Pvt., Hazel, Ohio. 

Turner, Frank A., Pvt., St. Albans, Vt. 

Wallwofk, Thomas, Pvt., Watertown, Mass. 

Walters, Charles R., Pvt., Newark, Ohio. 

Walther, Charles, Pvt., Jamaica Plain, Mass. 

Watkins, Willis W., Pvt., Hobonia, 111. 

Wilhelm, Jacob, Pvt., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Gibson, Alex M., 1st Sgt., Black River Falls. (Commissioned 2nd Lieut.) 

Plummer, Harold L., Sgt., Black River Falls. (Commissioned 2nd Lieut.) 

Reiels, Clarence W., Sgt., Black River Falls. (Transferred) 

Brandon, Alfred, Cook, Black River Falls. (Transferred) 

Spaulding, John J., Pvt., Black River Falls. (Transferred) 

Taylor, William A., Pvt., Black River Falls. (Transferred) 

Lutz, Roy, Pvt. Icl, Black River Falls. (Transferred) 

Craig, William, Pvt. Icl, Waupaca, Wis. (Transferred) 

Bunn, Arthur, Pvt. Icl, Waukesha, Wis. (Transferred) 

Home, Clarence E., Pvt., Black River Falls. (Transferred) 

Hostrawser, Harley V., Pvt., Black River Falls. (Wounded in action near 

Montfaucon, Oct. 4, 1918) 
LyoD, Ray, Pvt., Black River Falls. (Transferred) 



COMPANY D 



Swanson, Harry C, 1st Sgt., Draper, Wis. 
Swanson, Samuel L., Sup. Sgt., Draper, Wis. 
Peterson, Melvin, Mess Sgt., Hayward, Wis. 
Josephson, Oscar M., Sgt., Hayward, Wis. 
DuRoy, Lewis R., Sgt., Pioneer, Ohio. 
Russell, Irvin, Sgt., Marinette, Wis. 
Neste, Anton L., 1st Sgt., Springbrook, Wis. 
Larson, Raymond, Sgt., Stone Lake, Wis. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 203 



Hoaglund, George, Sgt., Beloit, Wis. 

Berry, Chauncey C, Cpl., Stone Lake, Wis. 

Britton, Norman, Cpl., Minneapolis, Minn. 

Colt, Ben L., Cpl., Climax Springs, Mo. 

Corbine, Dave, Cpl., Couderay, Wis. 

Corbin, Hollis N., Cpl., South Acworth, N. H. 

DeMarr, Lawrence, Cpl., Reserve, Wis. 

Hamblin, Richard L., Cpl., Hayward, Wis. 

Hogue, William E., Cpl., Hayward, Wis. 

Johnson, Minor J., Cpl., Wild Rose, Wis. 

Leonard, Racil, Cpl., Abrams, Wis. 

McGreal, Walter L., Cpl., Los Angeles, Calif. 

Olson, Arthur, Cpl., Hayward, Wis. 

Oshogay, Joseph, Cpl., Reserve, Wis. 

Petring, Edward W., Cpl., Akron, Ohio. 

Sandstrom, Carl A., Cpl., Hayward, Wis. 

Stolp, Guy W., Cpl., Union City, Mich. 

Turnbull, Richard, Cpl., Hayward, Wis. 

White, John J., Cpl., Reserve, Wis. 

Lund, Andrew, Cook, Hayward, Wis. 

Rader, Warren R., Cook, Ripley, W. Va. 

Seawright, Ryan H., Cook, Hartwell, Ga. 

Crawford, Roy B., Ch. Mech., Rice Lake, Wis. 

Ackley, Wilson I., Wagoner, Winter, Wis. 

Allen, Roy E., Wagoner, Loomis, So. Dak. 

Beauprie, Luke, Wagoner, Keshena, Wis. 

Berry, Clyde, Wagoner, Stone Lake, Wis. 

Kingfisher, John, Pvt. Icl, Reserve, Wis. 

Knox, Charles, Pvt. Icl, Reserve, Wis. 

LaRonge, George, Pvt. Icl, Reserve, Wis. 

LaRush, Archie, Pvt. Icl, Winter, Wis. 

Lowers, Asa E., Pvt. Icl, Winter, Wis. 

Lynk, Joe, Pvt. Icl, Reserve, Wis. 

Marchinek, Frank K., Pvt. Icl, Independence, Wis. 

Marler, Claude J., Pvt. Icl, Kinston, Ala. 

Marsden, Noel H., Pvt., Icl, Richmond, Mo. 

McLemore, Oliver D., Pvt. Icl, Athens, Ala. 

Pariseau, Frank J., Pvt. Icl, Hayward, Wis. 

Roark, Wiley, Pvt. Icl, Worth, W. Va. 

White, Charles, Pvt. Icl, Reserve, Wis. 

Anderson, John W., Pvt. Icl, Georgiana, Ala. 

Bartelmey, Frank R., Pvt., Laredo, Mont. 

Batiste, John, Pvt., Reserve, Wis. 

Branch, Grover M., Pvt., Albany, Ga. 

Buchanan, Frank R., Pvt., Amsterdam, Carroll, Ohio. 

Cadotte, John, Pvt;, Hayward, Wis. 

Cavanaugh, George J., Pvt., Sommerville, Mass. 

Chester, Cornelius, Pvt., St. Waburn, Mass. 

Denasha, Antoine, Pvt., Reserve, Wis. 

Dennis, Charles, Pvt., Reserve, Wis. 

Duggan, William J., Pvt., Whiteland, Ind. 

Erzinger, Charles, Pvt., Dix, Neb. 

Faulk, Plez, Pvt., Dotham, Ala. 

Fiala, Joe F., Pvt., Schuyler, Neb. 

Eisen, Herman, Pvt., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Foust, Carl H., Pvt., Bridger, Mont. 

Foutz, Lowell E., Pvt., Shirley, Ind. 



204 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

Fraser, Earl A., Pvt., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Gillen, Joseph, Pvt., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Hackley, Roy J., Pvt., Erwln, Tenn. 

Hendrickson, Clarence, Pvt., Deer Lodge, Mont. 

Hickey, John J., Pvt., Holyoke, Mass. 

Brandsvick, Andrew, Wagoner, Drummond, Wis. 

Burr, Nathan A., Wagoner, Lepeer, Mich. 

Chapin, Leonard E., Wagoner, Stanton, Mich. 

Christ, John B., Wagoner, Hayward, Wis. 

Coker, Walter J., Wagoner, Colero, Ala. 

Delzer, Louis, Wagoner, Harvey, No. Dak. 

Edberg, Ernest P. J., Wagoner, Winter, Wis. 

Gagnon, Stanley, Wagoner, International Falls, Minn. 

Gewalt, Arthur, Wagoner, Milwaukee, Wis. 

Harris, Fred E., Wagoner, Birmingham, Ala. 

Holland, Tom B., Wagoner, Newbrockston, Ala. 

Jones, Clyde A., Wagoner, Milwaukee, Wis. 

Krug, Arthur R., Wagoner, Twisp, Wash. 

LaRush, Dosie, Wagoner, Hayward, Wis. 

McLaughlin, Walter O., Wagoner, Kettle Falls, Wash. 

Mondt, Leo, Wagoner, Seattle, Wash. 

Olmstead, Arthur, Wagoner, Winter, Wis. 

Peterson, Henry G., Wagoner, Selma, Calif. 

Sander, Alfred H., Wagoner, Rice Lake, Wis. 

Sorlie, Edwin, Wagoner, Hayward, Wis. 

Stiles, Irvin E., Wagoner, Port Austin, Mich. 

Tonstad, Sigurd O., Wagoner, Hayward, Wis. 

White, George E., Wagoner, Athens, Ala. 

Wood, John W., Wagoner, Cedar Bluff, Ala. 

Wood, Walter W., Wagoner, Winter, Wis. 

Belille, Dave, Pvt. Icl, Reserve, Wis. 

Bohn, George, Pvt. Icl, Shell Lake, Wis. 

Boyle, Charles, Pvt. Icl, Hayward, ^Vis. ' 

Christenson, Gust, Pvt. Icl, Hayward, Wis. 

Coon, Charley, Pvt. Icl, Winter, Wis. 

Coon, George, Pvt. Icl, Reserve, Wis. 

DeMarr, William, Pvt. Icl, Reserve, Wis. 

Dennis, Bazil, Pvt. Icl, Reserve, Wis. 

Dennis, David, Pvt. Icl, Reserve, Wis. 

Gasink, Francis H., Pvt. Icl, Staples, Minn. 

George, William, Pvt. Icl, Hayward, Wis. 

George, Wilson C, Pvt. Icl, Palmetton, Carbon, Pa. 

Hicks, Emmitt T., Pvt. Icl, State Line, Miss. 

Hunt, Charles L., Pvt. Icl, Cloverton, Minn. 

Isham, William, Pvt. Icl, Couderay, Wis. 

Hoey, Patrick G., Pvt., Jamica Plain, Mass. 

Instance, Lester, Pvt., Brookfleld, Ohio. 

Jahnke, Fred., Pvt., Kenosha, Wis. 

James, Alex, Pvt., Winter, Wis. 

Jones, Harry E., Pvt., Kincaid, 111. 

Kelly, John D., Pvt., Mason, Wis. 

Kvancz, John, Pvt., Norwalk, Conn. 

Larson, John, Pvt., Minneapolis, Minn. 

Leyon, Henning V., Pvt., Red Wing, Minn. 

Lunn, Louis P., Pvt., Seattle, Wash. 

Maroon, Christopher, Pvt., Osan, Ark. 

Martell, William, Pvt., Reserve, Wis. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 205 

McDermott, Harold, Pvt., Hayward, Wis. 

Nyback, Leonard E., Hayward, Wis. 

Nyman, William O., Pvt., Amesbury, Mass. 

Pearl, Harold D., Pvt., Baker, Mont. 

Pinchak, John, Pvt., Alleghany, Pa. 

Pomerlo, John, Pvt., Winter, Wis. 

Potenziani, Antonio, Pvt., Wilson Creek, Wash. 

Quaderer, Tom, Pvt., Reserve, Wis. 

Roe, Harry E., Pvt., Mapleton, Minn. 

Rogan, George N., Pvt., Rock Springs, Wyo. 

Ross, Howard, Pvt., Akron, Ohio. 

Sampson. Engvald, Pvt., Mondovi, Wis. 

Sidwell, Chester L., Pvt., Hale, Mo. 

Strucker, Grover C, Pvt., Cullom, 111. 

Tainter, Andrew, Pvt., Couderay, Wis. 

Underwood, Harry E., Pvt., Anahiem, Calif. 

Weber, Harold C, Pvt., Justus, Ohio. 

Butler, George, Pvt., Reserve, Wis. (Died of shrapnel wounds August 29, 

1918, Evacuation Hospital No. 5, Am. E. F.) 
Kappers, Clarence, 1st Sgt., Chippewa Falls, Wis. (Commissioned 2nd 

Lieut.) 
Dumont, Fred J., Sgt., Hayward, Wis. (Transferred) 
Devine, Barney, Sgt., Hayward, Wis. (Transferred) 
De Marr, Alex, Sgt., Hayward, Wis. (Transferred) 
Long, John, Sgt., Hayward, Wis. (Transferred) 
Bisonette, Jim, Pvt. Icl, Hayward, Wis. (Transferred) 
Isham, Ira, Pvt. Icl, Couderay, Wis. (Transferred) 
Dillon, Frank, Pvt. Icl, Hayward, Wis. (Transferred) 
Gregerson, Harry P., Pvt. Icl, Hayward, Wis., (Transferred) 
Billers, Jonas I, Pvt., Hayward, "Wis. (Transferred) 
Baker, Harry, Pvt., Hayward, Wis. (Transferred) 
Coon, Louis, Pvt., Winter, Wis. (Transferred) 
Dennis, Willie, Pvt., Reserve, Wis. (Transferred) 
Isham, Charles, Pvt., Couderay, Wis. (Transferred) 
Jockey, Charles, Pvt., Hayward, Wis. (Transferred) 
Kammers, Louis J., Pvt., Hayward, Wis. (Transferred) 
Seng, Charles W., Pvt., Hayward, Wis. (Transt^srred) 
Wright, George H.,Pvt., Hayward, Wis. (Transferred) 
Anderson, Harry, Pvt., Hayward, Wis. (Transferred) 
Fairfield, Lloyd N., Pvt., Hayward, Wis. (Commissioned 2nd Lieut) 
Varley, John W., Pvt. (Wounded in action near Montfaucon Sept. 28, 

1918) 
Jones, Clyde A, Wag, Milwaukee, Wis. (Wounded in action Sept. 28, 1918, 

near Montfaucon) 
Domenico, Alfred D., Sgt. 



COMPANY E 

Hackett, Carrol E., 1st Sgt., Platteville, Wis., (Commissioned 2nd Lt.) 

Fuelberg, Clarence, Mess Sgt., Platteville, Wis. 

Desmond, John T., Sup. Sgt., Platteville, Wis. 

Friedland, Waldo, Stab. Sgt., Menasha, Wis. 

Bowman, Willard A., Sgt., Platteville, Wis. 

Barron, James E., Sgt., Platteville, Wis. 

Merry, Roscoe C, Sgt., Platteville, Wis. 



206 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

MacCulloch, Lucion V., Sgt., Platteville, Wis. 
Ralph, Homer D., Sgt., Platteville, Wis. 
Richards, Benjamin S., Sgt., Platteville, Wis. 
Billings, Henry M., Corp., Platteville, Wis. 
Callan, Oswald, E., Corp., Platteville, Wis. 
Cordingly, Edwin H., Corp., Platteville, Wis, 
Gardner, Claude, Corp., Platteville, Wis. 
Goodlad, John A.. Corp., Platteville, Wis. 
Slothower, David W., Corp., Platteville, Wis. 
Wilkins, Robert A., Corp., Platteville, Wis. 
Karrmann, Bernhard P., Corp., Platteville, Wis, 
Manuel, Timothy C, Corp., Platteville, Wis. 
Martin, Virgil C, Corp., Platteville, Wis. 
McDermott, Eldren R., Corp., Platteville, Wis. 
Tomlinson, Theodore, Corp., Platteville, Wis. 
Temby, John O., Corp., Platteville, Wis. 
Shuman, Ross E., Corp., Platteville, Wis. 
Adkins, William H., Corp., Platteville, Wis. 
Peart, Harry H., Corp., Platteville, Wis. 
Wells, Charles L. Corp., Platteville, Wis. 
Johnson, Hartwig, Hs., Shawano, Wis. 
Powell, Charles C, Hs., Platteville, Wis. 
Palmer, Harry L. Mec, Platteville, Wis. 
Wright, Robert A., Mec, Platteville, Wis. 
Stephan, Harry J., Sad., Platteville, Wis. 
Kuehling, Charles C, Wag., Platteville, Wis. 
Graham, Richard, Ck., Waupaca, Wis. 
Cummins, George A., Ck., Platteville, Wis. 
Schneider, Arthur, Ck., Waukesha, Wis. 
Roach, Gordon, Bugler, Platteville. Wis. 
Snyder, Thomas C, Bugler, Platteville, Wis. 
Alcott, Harold T., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Bennett, Paul D., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Benson, Tom F., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Berneman, Joseph S., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Brown, William J., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Burlingame, Ernest E., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Byrne, Vincent H., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Cardy, Clyde R., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Cushman, Clarence J., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Deglemann, Michael J., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Eustice, Raymond R., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Garvey, Irvin E., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Hottenstein, William C, Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wsi. 
Howland, John F., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Hughes, Idrys O., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Kane, Leo M., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Karmann, Walter C, Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Kennedy, Earl D., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Krog, Walter C, Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Lewis, Frank R., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Long, Bernhard R., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Ludwig, Raymond, Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Norris, Claude L., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Plourde, Harold Or, Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Risic, Harry D., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Speth, John P. R., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis, 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 207 

Staver, Charles C, Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Staver, Phillip L., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Steele, Edward L., Pvt. Icl, Plattevile, Wis. 
Steplian, Andrew M., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Stonesifer, William H., Pvt., Icl, Platteville. Wis. 
Tarrell, Russell M., Pvt. Icl, Patteville, Wis. 
Walters, Caissus M., Pvt. Icl. Platteville, Wis. 
Wawzynick, Joe, Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Webb, John E., Pvt. Icl, Platteville, Wis. 
Browne, Ross, Pvt. Icl, Waukesha, Wis. 
Bolenbaugh, Seymour G., Pvt. Icl, Waukesha, Wis. 
Dinkel. Walter C, Pvt. Icl, Waukesha, Wis. 
Dunham, Fred, Pvt. Icl, Waukesha, Wis. 
Drewry, Robert B., Pvt. Icl, Waukesha, Wis. 
Erdman, Arthur E., Pvt. Icl, Waukesha, Wis. 
Gebmann, George A., Pvt. Icl, Waukesha, Wis. 
Nuss, Albert, Pvt. Icl, Waukesha, Wis. 
Wallace, Ralph E., Pvt. Icl, Waukesha, Wis. 
Wallrabenstein, George, Pvt. Icl, Waukesha, Wis. 
Wheeler, Ralph F., Pvt. Icl, Waukesha, Wis. 
Ames, William A.. Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Ames, George J, Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Ames. Chiistopher A., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Alexander, Raymond J., Pvt., Platteville; Wis. 
Bennett, Robert, Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Beyer. George A., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Boldt, Benjamin A., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Burnes, James A., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Bruner, Joseph L., Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 
Bernhagen, Henry F., Pvt., Waterloo, Wis. 
Bullion, William R., Pvt. Baraboo, Wis. 
Buchanan, Benjamin, Pvt.. Waterloo, Wis. 
Carpenter, George F., Pvt., Waterloo, Wis. 
Cook, Vincent O., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Crosby, Carl C, Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Derr, Charles E.. Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Detert, Herman F., Pvt., Waterloo, Wis. 
Dixon, John C, Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Dolan, Frank R. Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Danahoe, William T., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Doyle, James L., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Elliott. Forrest L., Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 
Ehlenfeldt, Edward J., Waterloo, Wis. 
Fleege, Leo B., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Fuller, Woodburn J., Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 
Bardenier, Edward J., Platteville, Wis. 
Genthe, Harvey E., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Gierens, George C, Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Griffiths, William J., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Giles. Arthur, Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 
Gibbs, Ray W., Pvt.. Waukesha, Wis. 
Gebmann. John R., Pvt.. Waukesha, Wis. 
Gerheairt, Elmer, Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 
Greb. Ray, Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 
Griffiths, David J., Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 
Gruber, Merel J., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Grundy, John H., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 



208 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

Hartshorn, William F., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Habermann, Mark F., Pvt., Waterloo, Wis. 

Hargrave, John, Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 

Helker, Howard C, Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Hooser, Harry B., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Hughes, Arthur G., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Hutchcrot, John, Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Hunt, Arthur, Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 

Johnson, Ralph B., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Johnson, Bert, Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Johnston, Charles, Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Kies, Guerdon F., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Kies, Ray A., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Kitto, William J., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Knudtson, Henry C, Pvt., Waterloo, Wis. 

Henderleiter, William, Pvt., Baraboo, Wis. 

Lee, Austin, Pvt., Kenosha, Wis. 

Long, Leo W., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Long, Daniel J., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Manion, Will F., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Margan, Joseph, Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Malone, Mark, Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 

McKoy, Byron, Pvt., Shawano, Wis. 

Meyer, John L., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Meske, Walter B., Pvt., Waterloo, Wis. 

Miller, Eddie T., Pvt., Waterloo, Wis. 

Mock, Archie L., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Monson, Ivar R., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Mundon, John M., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Mundon, William M., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Michalek, Lewis, Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 

Morin, George, Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 

Mueller, George E., Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 

McCarthy, Byran, Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 

Gates, Elgie E., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

O'Brien, Paul S., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 

Orwcke, John, Pvt., Platteville, Wis. (Drowned July 9, 1918, near Fousse- 

mange, Alsace.) 
Oyer, Kenneth B., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Pallett, Ray B., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Phillips, Clarence D., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Powell, Willie J., Pvt., Waterloo, Wis. 
Redmond, Robert B., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Peterson, Alfred, Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 
Richards, Elmer E., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Rickard, John R., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Schmelzer, Benjamin, Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Schmelzer, Henry W., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Shaw, John C, Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Snyder, John C, Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Splane, John W., Pvt. Platteville, Wis. 
Wagner, Charles A., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Wallace, Maurice L., Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 
Walker, Andy I., Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 
Ware, Earl G., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Jones, James P., Pvt., Baraboo, Wis. 
Bartels, Edward T., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 20^ 



Bell, Raymond, Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 
Dorsey, Edward, Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Ashley, John H., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Brady, Edward M., Pvt., Chippewa Falls, Wis. 
Cusse, Florent, Pvt., Chippewa Falls, Wis. 
Webster, Lester J., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Weber, George, Pvt., Waukesha, Wis. 
Nawrocki, Sylvester A., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
McLaughlin, Victor J., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Adkins, Joseph S., Pvt., Platteville, Wis. 
Wallace, Carl, Pvt., Baraboo, Wis. 



COMPANY F 

Czarnecki, Henry, F., Mess Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Piechowski, Joseph S., Sup. Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis 
Gorski, Joseph, Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Jarzyna, Casimir, Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kosciolowski, Zygmunt, Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Lassa, Felix C, Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Lesak, Andrew, Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Molenda, John J., Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Milewski, Barney, Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Witt, Clemelc A., Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Borchardt, Joseph, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Chmielewski, Walter J., Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Czerniewski, Stefan, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Dworczyk, Anton, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Felskl, Walter, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Gajkowski, Frank, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Haak, Stanley, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Helminiak, Albert, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Gradelski, Konstanty, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Janicki, Albert, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Niemojewski, John, Corp.. Milwaukee. Wis. 
Roszak, Joseph, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Sobczak, Stanley, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Stec, Adam, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Staszak, Anton, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Szatkowski, Ignacy, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Stachowiak, Gerard, Corp.. Milwaukee, Wis. 
Chmura, Anton. Ch. Mec, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kotowicz, Frank, Mec, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kowalski, Edmund, Mec, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Buczynski, Joseph, Ck., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kozmlnski, Stanislaus, Ck., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Ratkowski, Frank, Ck., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Balcerak, Joseph, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Bogadajewicz, Henry, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Boreisszis, Joseph, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Chycinski, Frank, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Cieslak, Michael, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Duznski, Andrew, Pvt. Icl. Milwaukee, Wis. 
Garsteckl, Alex, Pvt. Icl. Milwaukee, Wis. 
Garstecki, Ladislaus, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 



210 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

Gorski, Stanley, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, "Wis. 
Jagodzinski, Roman, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Karas, Leo, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Karolewicz, Bernard, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kelszczynski, William, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kocz, John, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kolodziejski, Mikolaj, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Krygier, Frank. Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Majchrzak, Stanley, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Nowak, Casimir, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Nowicki, Adam, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Pawlak, John, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Pigolski, Stanislaus, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee. Wis 
Radowicz, Michael, Pvt. Ic, Milwaukee, Wis 
Smigaj, Stanley L., Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Stelmachowski, Joseph, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Serdak, Stanley, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Szatkowski, Leo J., Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Szulc, Andrew, Pvt. Icl Milwaukee, Wis. 
Tuzinski, Boleslaw, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Wojciechowski, Stanley, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Woznik, Joseph, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Zalewski, August, Jr., Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Zalewski, Roman, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Alceser, Heromin, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Anczak, John, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Badewicz, Stanley, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Bieske, August, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Boinski, Sylvester, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Borzych, Paul, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Cieska, John, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Cywinski, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Czerwinski, Constanty, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Czarkowski, Mieczslaw, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Chlebowski, Frank, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Gzerniewski, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Danielak, Stanislaw, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Danielski, Walter, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Domanski, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Dziemian, Frank Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Dudek, John, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Gajkowski, Edward, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Gallon, Vincent, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Gembicki, Stanley. Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Glish, Bennie, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Glaszczak, Michael, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Glowacki, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Gnatkoski Leon, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Gondek, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Grubich, Kasimir, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Gruss, Bronoslaw, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Hanke, Stanislaus, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Helminiak, Frank, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Hensiak, Frank, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Homanski, Ludwig, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Jablonowski, Stanley, Pvt., Milwaukee Wis. 
Jakimczjy, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 



1^ 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 211 

Janik, Witold, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Janiszewski, Waclaw, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Jankowski, Michale, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Japczynski, Walter, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Jasinski, John, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Jakubinak, Stanley, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Juzwik, Chester, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Karolewicz, Frank, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Karolewicz, Frank M., Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kadingo, Frank, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kadingo, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kaminski, Edward, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Karnowski, George A., Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Karplnski, Valentine, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kloweski, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kocorowski, John, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Koralewski, Walter, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Korczynski, Nililas, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kosinski, Alexander, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kostecki, Mathew, Pvt., ilwaukee. Wis. 
Kotowicz, Peter, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Koziczki, Ignatz, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kozlowski, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kozlowski Leo, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Krupnik, Stanislau, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kurowski, Maxymillian, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kuskowski, Peter, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kulbacki, Kazimier, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kulbacki, Witold, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kwiatkowski, Harry, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Lenz, Adolf, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Lewaudowski, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Ludka, Alois, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Maciaszyk, John, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Makarewicz, Jacob, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Makowski, Andrew, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Malinowski, Michael, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Michalski, Walter, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Mikolajczak, Frank, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Milzarek, Frank, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Niewinski, Paul, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Nowaczyk, Stefan, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Nowak, Leon, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Nowakowski, Mathew, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Noworolnik, Martin, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Olszewski. Frank, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Orlowski, Michael, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Para, Stanley, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Parsly, Stanley, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Paszak, Felix, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Piontek, John, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Piontek, Mathew, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Polachowski, Frank, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Polubitz, Wyllem, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Puczylowski, Izydor, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Rakowski, Ingnaczy, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Reniak, Stephan, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 



212 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

Remiszewski, Stanley, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Rewolinski, Leon, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Rolerat, Boleslaw, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Rybicki, Yalenty, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Sawicki, Vincent, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Sinka, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Sudzinski, Leo, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Skorupski, Kazmer, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Smolkowicz, Lorenc, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Smykacz, Peter, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Stapski, Stanislaw, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Starczewski, Frank, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Staszak, Lawrence, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Stec, Stanislaus, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Stefanski, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Stempin, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Strzyewski, Tony, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Tarkowski, Frank, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Tomczyk, James, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Wawrzyniak, Adolf, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Wesolowski, Marion M., Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Wicherski, Casimir, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Wiesniewski, Stanley, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Winski, John, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Wipijewski, Michael, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
W iyniewski, Vincent, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Wojciechowski, Frank, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Wojciechowski, John, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Wroblewski, Alex, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Wyka, Sebestyn, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Zagorski, John, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Zdrojewski, Stephan, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Zakrzewski, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 



COMPANY G 

Majerowski, Frank 1st Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Gill, Clement, Sup. Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Czerwinski, Stanley J., Mess Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Boinski, Roman, Stab. Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Czarnyszka, Anthony, Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Czechorski, Roman, Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Czerwinski, Max J., Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Gromowski, Bleslaw, Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Gwitt, Stanley F., Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Karas, Joseph, Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Majerowski, John A., Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Matyasik, Philip, Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Przytarski, Anthony J., Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Sperka, Alois, Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Sperka, Stanley. Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Czarniak, Frank, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Dendor, Stanislaw, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Goralski, Idzi, Milwaukee, Wis. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 213 



Kloman, Joseph, Corp., Milwaukee, "Wis. 
Klotecki, Walter, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Lang, Daniel, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Lisiecki, Roman, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Mankiewicz, Dan, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Ludke, Frank, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Materna, Leo, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Mlodzik, Harry M., Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Pochowski, Louis L., Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Szwanka, Stanley, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Stencil, Albert, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Szmania, Valentine, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Stanczyk, Frank, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Sarnowski, Anton, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Swiatkowski, Stanley, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Wysocki, Andrew, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Wnuk, August, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Zukowski, Walter, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Zywny, Joseph, Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Ludwin, Frank, Hs., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kopydlowski, Alex, Hs., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Rumacki, Frank, Hs., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Brengoss, Toofil, Mec, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Tyjowski, Walter, Mec, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Boran, Felix, Sad., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Benkowski, August, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Bilot, Joseph L., Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Chmiolowski, Joseph L., Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Chibicki, Alex, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Dura, Alex, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Frelka, Anton, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Golinski, Frank, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Gromowski, Phillip, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Glyzowski, Joseph, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Holowinski, Joseph, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Jagiolski, Stanley, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Jankowaki, John, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Jozofiak, Alex, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Krajewski, Alexander, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kondziorski, Roman, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kuklinski, Alois, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Linda, Alois, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Majowski, John, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Mrozinski, John J., Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Nowicki, Frank, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Nyka, Thomas, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Olszowski, Frank, C, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Poplinski, Walter V., Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Poloczynski, Stanley F., Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Przybycien, Stancy, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Przybyla, Andrew, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Racinowski, Walter, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Ratajowski, John, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Racowicz, Andrew, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Rakowski, Stanley, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Romanski, Frank, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Stroick, Matt, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 



214 THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 

Sucharski, Stanley, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Walocki, Anton, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Walczak, Walter, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Zywicki, Edward, Wag., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Grabowski, Leo, Ck., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Kosinski, Julius, Ck., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Szelicki, Frank Ck., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Maziarz, John, Bugler, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Szyszkowski, John, Bugler, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Buda, Andrew, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Czarniak, Michael, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Dora, Charles, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Gradecki, John, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Gocn, John, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Jablonski, Ladislaus, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Jaronski, John, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
KacanOM'ski, Leon, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Mozak, John, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Lelo, Frank, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Lesniak, Joseph, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Leszczynski, Edward, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Mankiewicz, Christy, Pvt., Icl Milwaukee, Wis. 
Michalski, Stanley, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Nitkowski, John L., Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Paulikas, Anton, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Slaski, John, Ppt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Szurpik, Stephen, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Tackowiak, Joseph, Pvt. Isl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Tuchalski, Stanley, Pvt., Icl, Milwaukee, Wis 
Truszkowski, Anton, Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Wichowski, Leopold, B., Pvt. Icl, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Adamski, Boloslaw, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Bril, Wladyslaw, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Doresinski, Victor, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Draczka, Casimir, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Dzicbck, Stanley, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Czerwinski, Alexander, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Franckowiak, Frank, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Gorocki, Kazimierz, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Grzona, Walter, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wisv 

Jasinski, Wincenty, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Kaminski, Stanley, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Kolasinski, Charles R., Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Klota, John, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Komasiewicz, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Kroska, Wincenty, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Kubaszewski, Stephan, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Kunikowski, Martin, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Laskowski, Benjamin, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Majewski, Felix A., Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Mikolajczak, John, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Moranski, Stanley, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Nycz, Ludwig, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Crzochowski, Michael, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Polaszka, Frank Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Porazynski, Walter, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Rofiiski, Adam, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 



THRU THE WAR WITH OUR OUTFIT 215 



Rogalski, Leon A., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Sampolinski, Anthony, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Strcompkowski, Barney, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Sikorski, Prank L., Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Sosnowski, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Skalba, Stanley, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Smaira, John, Pvt., Milwaukee. Wis. 
Szoffor. Andrew, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Szymczali, Anton, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Truchan, George, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Urbanski, Casimir, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Ulicki, Chester, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Wasilewski, Frank, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Woitekajtis, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Wnuczek, John, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Wrecza, Joseph, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Wojtalewicz, Ignac, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 
Witkowski, Stephan, Pvt., Milwaukee, Wis. 



Actions 
In Which the 1 07th Ammunition Train Engaged. 

Alsace Sector — June 16 to July 23, 1918 ; Aisne-Marne Offensive — 
July 29 to August 24, 1918; Oise-Aisne Sector (Juvigny Offensive) 
— August 28 to September 7, 1918 ; Meuse-Argonne Offensive — Sep- 
tember 26 to November 11, 1918; Array of Occupation — January 18 
to April 21, 1919. 



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